Vietnamese athletes gear up for Asian Para Games

Members of the Việt Nam team at the send-off ceremony in Đà Nẵng for the 4th Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China. Photo courtesy of Trần Lê Lâm

ĐÀ NẴNG – Việt Nam will send a 71-member team to the 4th Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China competing in seven sports.

They are aiming for three to four gold medals in the biggest Asian sports event for people with disabilities from October 22-28.

The head of the team, Nguyễn Hồng Minh said at the send-off ceremony in the central city’s Sports Training Centre No 3, that each member of the team is fully charged and ready for action.

He said the team had good preparations since successfully competing at the ASEAN Para Games in Cambodia in 2022.

Minh said even though the team finished third in the medal tally with 66 gold, 58 silver and 77 bronze medals at the ASEAN Para Games, the continent sporting event is still tough a challenge.

“It’s a tough event for the Vietnamese team as the world's top athletes will be gathering in a tussle for gold medals this year,” Minh said.

“The team will start the games with all our power and capability in bagging medals in seven key sports that we can compete the best.”

The team will feature in swimming, track and field, weight lifting, chess, table tennis, badminton, and taekwondo.

Swimming, track and field and weight lifting are promising sports that Vietnamese athletes could earn gold, he shared.

Hoàng Đạo Cương, deputy minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the country will follow and support Vietnamese athletes at the Asian Para Games.

He said it’s a hard job for the team, but taking part is a glorious task and the whole country is behind them, cheering on the athletes.

At the previous Games four years ago in Indonesia, Việt Nam won four golds, one silver and five bronze medals finishing seventh.

Vietnamese swimmer Võ Thanh Tùng, paralifters Nguyễn Văn Hùng, Lê Văn Công, Nguyễn Bình An, Đặng Thị Linh Phượng and Châu Hoàng Tuyết Loan are among the best hopes for medals.

Swimmer Nguyễn Thành Trung said this year’s games will be the third time that he has taken part.

“It’s a big honour to take on the Asian Para Games – the biggest sports event in Asia for disabled persons,” Trung said at the ceremony.

“I won three golds with two records in swimming at the previous games, and I set my hopes for this competition. All the team will be powerful competing in what we hope will be glorious victories for the country.” VNS