Paralympics 

The Việt Nam Paralympic Committee's new Executive Board for the 2024 to 2029 working period. VNA/VNS Photo

 HÀ NỘI — Huỳnh Vĩnh Ái will take charge of the Việt Nam Paralympic Committee for the next five year after he was successfully reelected Chairman in a congress in Hà Nội on April 12.

Delegates voted a new Executive Board with 29 members and a standing panel with nine members. 

Ái, who is former Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will lead the Committee which was previously known as the Việt Nam Paralympic Association, from 2024 to 2029.

He will be assisted by two vice chairmen Nguyễn Doãn Tuyến and Lý Đại Nghĩa. Trần Đức Thọ is General Secretary.

At the sixth congress, delegates reviewed the committee's works in the previous period and agreed that under strong support of the government and enterprises, the sport movement for people with disabilities and the achievements of athletes with disabilities increased significantly.

In 2023, the national teams competed successfully at the 12th ASEAN Para Games earning 201 medals, in which 66 were golds, and set up 19 new records and ranked third in the medal tally.

In the 19th Asian Para Games, they secured one gold, 10 silvers and nine bronzes.

Currently, there are nearly 40 athletes with disabilities who receive regular support from the State. It is still quite modest compared with the total number of sportsmen.

All delegates agreed that this number should be increased remarkably, thereby helping the sports movement for people with disabilities grow stronger.

In addition to the better attention from the State, the committee needed to strengthen current connection while call for more help from organisations and businesses in the development of sports for people with disabilities.

Delegates also raised a number of proposals and recommendations such as building preferential policies for athletes with disabilities; stabilising the existing club system and opening more sports clubs for people with disabilities in localities.

The committee's goal in the new period is to have 160-165 elite athletes training all-year-round training at national and local sports training centres; having 130 members to attend the 2026 ASEAN Para Games and from seven to nine athletes qualified for the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

The congress set a goal of attracting 1.5 million people with disabilities (in a total of more than 7 million people with disabilities nationwide) to participate in sports and physical activities by 2030. VNS