HÀ NỘI — The Viet Nam Women's Museum is opening a photo exhibition themed "Aspiration to Shine" to promote and encourage Viet Nam's female athletes to bring new triumphs to Vietnamese sports at the ongoing SEA Games 31.

The exhibition features about 60 photographs of elite female athletes from all walks of life, including those with impairments are displayed at the exhibition.

"The journey to a professional sports career and reaching the pinnacle of glory is challenging for ordinary people, but for female athletes, especially athletes with disabilities, it is many times more difficult," said Nguyễn Thị Tuyết, deputy director of the museum.

The exhibition includes three themes. 

The first, "On the Top of Glory", depicts the athletes' arduous trip on the training field, followed by their elation upon stepping onto the winner's podium.

The second, "Behind the Glory", tells the story of the hardships that female athletes go through to achieve their goals.

The third, "Simple Moments", refers to everyday yet emotional and joyful times when the athletes return home to their families after intense days of training and competition.

Images displayed at the exhibition are all about moments of sweating and even bleeding during training, juxtaposed with tears and smiles on the racing track and training ground. It is all all about the hard work, happiness and pride that the sportswomen have experienced to step onto the champion's podium.

The works with the theme of "Behind the Glory" are gender-specific stories about female competitors who have had to sacrifice a lot. They even have to put temporarily aside their personal happiness, their children and family to dedicate themselves to their sports careers.

"Female athletes play an important role in bringing glory to Vietnamese sports. The road to professional sports is far from easy, filled with hardships and obstacles, especially for those with disabilities," a statement from the Viet Nam Women's Museum said.

"Not only are female athletes recognised for their strong competitive spirit, but they also are respected for embodying the other well-known characteristics of Vietnamese women: resiliency, strength, dedication and adaptability to any environment or pursuit," according to the museum.

The "golden girls" of Vietnamese sports have inspired the people of Viet Nam with their determination and strength of character, it says.

To celebrate the SEA Games 31, and to pay tribute to female athletes who have taken part in the regional sports event throughout the years, the museum says in its statement that it organises the exhibition to honour nearly 50 outstanding individuals and teams that have made significant achievements in regional and international sports events.

It wants to provide viewers an insight into the pride, happiness and glory of winning medals for the country and shares stories from the "golden girls" of Vietnamese sports about the hard work, injuries and obstacles they encountered as well as their memorable moments with families and teammates.

It once again also affirms the beauty of a woman who is strong, passionate, has the desire to contribute and has the ability to master all fields so spreading a positive influence across the community.

The exhibition opens to the public until May 25 at the Viet Nam Women's Museum, 36 Lý Thường Kiet Street, Ha Noi. VNS