Long, who won two gold medals at the Southeast Asian Canoeing Championships in June 2011, only finished third in the men’s 1,000m competition after Indonesia’s Octarorianus and Myanmar’s Win Hintke.

Another Vietnamese hopeful Nguyen Thanh Quang only came fourth in the same event.

Vietnamese players also failed to secure a gold medal in the men’s doubles.

On November 12, female Vietnamese players will take part in the 500m and 200m singles and doubles competitions. However, they have little chance to bag golds as their Singaporean opponents are too strong, according to chief coach Nguyen Van Thang.    

Vietnamese canoeing athletes aim to bring home 2-3 gold medals from these competitions.