HCM CITY — Vietnamese athletes will take part in the Asian Para Games which will start in mid-October in Indonesia.

 The Việt Nam Paralympic Committee (VPC) and other organisations yesterday organised a send-off ceremony in HCM City.

A statement from the Việt Nam Sports Administration released on Thursday said that the delegation including 56 athletes would compete in seven sports of swimming, athletics, power lifting, chess, judo, badminton and table tennis.

The administration also said these participants were the country’s strongest athletes who had spent time training hard and competing over the past months in preparation for the coming continental Games.

However, the team will miss the man with the greatest potential for winning a gold medal as world champion and record holder Lê Văn Công cannot make it. The 34-year-old weightlifter who is also a Paralympic winner has suffered injuries and will be sidelined this time. He is the defending champion of the men’s 48kg category. Công also stayed out of the Asian championship in Japan earlier this month. Doctors said he needed up to four months to recover.

Vũ Thế Phiệt, VPC’s vice president and secretary general, said: "Before setting off for the 2018 Asian Para Games, the Việt Nam sports delegation received intensive training on building strength and competition tactics, as well as tremendous encouragement and support from the Government, related ministries, organisations and great nutrition sponsorship from Herbalife Nutrition. 

“With such great preparedness, the Việt Nam para sports delegation is fully ready for the Games now. I believe that our para athletes will make us feel proud again at the 2018 Asian Para Games, though this is not an easy sporting arena.”

As part of long-standing nutrition sponsorship for the VPC, the Herbalife team will be at the 2018 Asian Para Games to provide the delegation with nutrition advice and product support throughout the event. 

In addition, the company will give spot awards to the first 10 Vietnamese athletes who claim medals for Việt Nam during the Asian Para Games.

Athletes will leave for Jakarta on October 1. The flag raising ceremony will be organised four days later, one day before the third tournament officially begins.

The Games’ opening ceremony is on October 6 and it will wrap up on October 13 at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium. Teams from 45 countries will arrive to compete in 18 sports.

Four years ago, around 4,500 athletes from 41 countries competed in 443 events in 23 sports in the second Games in South Korea.

China topped the final medal tally with 174 golds. They were followed by the hosts and Japan. Vietnamese athletes won nine golds and placed 10th in the ranking. — VNS