Vietnamese weightlifters shine at ASEAN Para Games

At the congress held last year in Indonesia, the Vietnamese weightlifting team won 10 championships and that was the basis for coach Le Quang Thai and the players to boldly propose a similar target at the 12th ASEAN Para Games in Cambodia.

Weightlifter Chau Hoang Tuyet Loan won 2 gold medals in the women's 55 kg category, breaking the tournament record. Photo: PHAM DUONG

According to the revised regulations and applied from the 11th ASEAN Para Games, at this year's congress, the organizing committee continued to award two sets of medals for each weight category, including the best performance and the best total lift. Starting with the absolute victory of female athlete Dang Thi Linh Phuong in both 50 kg gold medals, male colleague Le Van Cong (men's 49 kg) also did the same with the best weight of 168 kg and the total lift of 496 kg. In six consecutive ASEAN Para Games since 2007, this athlete from Ha Tinh has no rival in the regional arena. He is also the first Southeast Asian athlete to win a gold medal at a Paralympic Games (Rio 2016 - Brazil) in addition to holding the world record of 183 kg that he set in Brazil.

With three more double championships by Nguyen Binh An (men's 54 kg), Nguyen Van Hung (men's 72 kg) and Chau Hoang Tuyet Loan (women's 55 kg), the Vietnamese weightlifting team for the disabled completed the target of 10 gold medals at the 12th ASEAN Para Games, ranking only behind the Indonesian team (17 gold medals) in the overall standings of 38 events.

According to former head coach Nguyen Hong Phuc, this is a positive sign for the Vietnamese weightlifting team after many changes in recent times, in which many players were injured and had to be absent from major sporting events.

After the ASEAN Para Games, the weightlifting team will continue to participate in the World Championships in Dubai in August to accumulate points for the 2024 Paris Paralympics and prepare to compete at the ASIAN Para Games in Hangzhou (China) in October.

As of 7:00 p.m. on June 7, the Vietnamese sports delegation for disabled people exceeded the target of 50-55 gold medals, continuing to consolidate its third position on the overall ranking of the congress with 57 gold medals - 48 silver medals - 71 bronze medals, behind the two delegations of Indonesia and Thailand.

D. Linh

Source: https://nld.com.vn/the-thao/cu-ta-viet-toa-sang-tai-asean-para-games-20230607221243425.htm