The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) has invited Vietnam to send a shooting athlete to participate in the Tokyo Olympic Games, which is expected to take place later this year.

The invitation was stated in a letter sent to the Vietnam Shooting Federation on Sunday.

As no athletes in the Vietnamese shooting team have been qualified to participate in this year’s Olympic Games, the ISSF has asked the Southeast Asian country to send one shooter to compete in the 10-meter air pistol category at the event.

Famous shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh previously won the gold medal in this category at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

A source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper confirmed that the Vietnam Shooting Federation will nominate Vinh as the country’s representative to the Tokyo Olympics.

Although Vinh could not earn a ticket to the Games through qualifiers, that he is the most experienced in the Vietnamese shooting team makes him fittest for this slot.

One of the reasons why Vinh and other Vietnamese shooters could not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Their training plans have been repeatedly affected over the past year.

Vietnam was also unable to participate in many international shooting tournaments due to the pandemic.

The Tokyo Olympic Games are scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8.

Formerly slated to take place from July 24 to August 9, 2020, the event was postponed in March 2020 as a result of COVID-19.

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