Trịnh Thị Bích Như (lane 8) finished last in heat 2 of the Women's 50 metre freestyle S6. — Photo screenshot of Webthethao.vn

TOKYO — Trịnh Thị Bích Như and Võ Thanh Tùng were unable to make any surprises on the opening day for the Việt Nam team at the Tokyo 2021 Paralympic Games, after finishing last out of eight and seven swimmers, respectively.

Competing in heat 2 of the Women's 50m freestyle S6, Như finished with a time of 39.14 seconds. While Tùng’s result was 3 minutes and 14.11 seconds in heat 2 of the men's 200m freestyle S5.

Finishing first in Như’s category was Ukraine’s Yelyzaveta Mereshko with a time of 33.551 seconds, 5.63 seconds faster than Như.

In Tùng’s category, Francesco Bocciardo from Italy finished first with a time of 2 minutes and 25.44 seconds, some 38.67 seconds faster than the Vietnamese swimmer.

In both events, only the eight athletes with the best results in each category made it to the final, which took place in the afternoon of the same day.

Despite their best efforts, Như and Tùng were unable to compete against strong opponents from other countries, and qualify for the finals.

However, both Như and Tùng still have more chances. On August 26, the two will compete in the qualifying round of the women's 200m medley SM6 and men's 100m freestyle S5, respectively.

Alongside Như and Tùng on August 26 is Lê Văn Công who will compete in the 49kg men’s weightlifting, which starts from 11am.

Công is defending champion and holds both Paralympic and world records after successfully lifting 183kg and 183.5 kg, respectively. — VNS