HANOI, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's General Department of Sports and Physical Training said on Wednesday that its 18 pencak silat athletes and their coaches have a strong determination to bag at least one gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games (ASIAD) slated for August-September in Indonesia.

This will be the first time that Vietnamese pencak silat athletes, who have gained high rankings at many international tournaments, will vie for medals at an Asiad. At the 2017 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Malaysia, Vietnamese pencak silat artists won three golds.

A total of 352 Vietnamese athletes will compete in 32 out of 40 events at the 2018 ASIAD, striving to grab 3-5 golds, said the department's deputy head Tran Duc Phan.

At the previous ASIAD in 2014 in South Korea, Vietnam ranked 21st in the overall medal tally, with one gold, 10 silvers and 25 bronze. The country's best performance at an ASIAD was in 2002 in South Korea, when its athletes grabbed four golds.