Vietnam delegation aims to win medals at the 2024 Paris Paralympics

The Paris 2024 Paralympics will open on August 28 at the Place de la Concorde (France). The Paralympic program will involve 4,500 athletes competing in 22 sports and 23 events with 549 events taking place in Paris and its suburbs such as: Clichy-sous-Bois, La Courneuve, Versailles, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and Vaires-sur-Marne.

At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, the Vietnamese Paralympic Sports Delegation will participate in the 2024 Paris Paralympics with 14 members, including 4 delegation officials, 3 coaches and 7 athletes. The athletes include: Le Van Cong, Nguyen Binh An, Dang Thi Linh Phuong, Chau Hoang Tuyet Loan (weightlifting), Do Thanh Hai, Le Tien Dat (swimming) and Pham Nguyen Khanh Minh (athletics). All 7 athletes participating in the 2024 Paris Paralympics are from the Ho Chi Minh City Paralympic Sports.

The Vietnamese Paralympic Sports Delegation aims to win medals at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. (Photo: CCT)

In Southeast Asia, participating in the 2024 Paris Paralympics, Thailand has the largest number of athletes with 78. In addition to Vietnam and Thailand, the countries including Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar... all have athletes with disabilities participating.

Compared to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics (taking place in 2021), the number of athletes in the Vietnam Paralympic Delegation remains the same at 7. However, only 3 have competed in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics: Le Van Cong, Chau Hoang Tuyet Loan (weightlifting) and Do Thanh Hai (swimming). The rest are Pham Nguyen Khanh Minh (athletics), Le Tien Dat (swimming), Nguyen Binh An, and Dang Thi Linh Phuong (weightlifting) who have won tickets to the Games for the first time.

This year, 40 years old, this is the 4th Paralympic Games for athlete Le Van Cong and he continues to carry the hope for the Vietnam Disabled Sports Delegation in the 49kg weight class. This event helped him win the 2016 Paralympic Gold Medal with a score of 183kg and the 2020 Paralympic Silver Medal with a best weight of 173kg.

In addition, swimmer Le Tien Dat can also make a surprise. At the 4th Asian Para Games (Asian Para Games 4), Le Tien Dat won a Gold medal in the men's 100m breaststroke in the SB5 disability category. Weightlifter Nguyen Binh An, the Asian champion and Bronze medalist at the 2023 Asian Para Games, is expected in the men's 54kg category.

This is the 7th time the Vietnam Paralympic Sports Delegation has participated in the Paralympics since the first time in Sydney in 2000 with 2 athletes and no medals. In the 3 Paralympics that followed in Greece, Beijing, and London, the number of athletes gradually increased (4, 9, and 11). At the Rio Paralympic Games (2016), the Vietnam Paralympic Sports Delegation made a strong impression when winning 1 Gold medal, 1 Silver medal, and 2 Bronze medals. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Vietnam Paralympic Sports Delegation won 1 Silver medal from weightlifter Le Van Cong in the 49kg weight class.

The 2024 Paralympics are expected to bring intense, dramatic and attractive competitions, performances and contests. It is both a challenge and an opportunity for athletes to demonstrate their extraordinary will and determination to overcome personal obstacles and confidently conquer themselves. They will have their own way of shining, full of impressions and emotions, affirming that there is no limit that cannot be overcome./.

Source: https://dangcongsan.vn/the-thao/doan-viet-nam-dat-muc-tieu-gianh-huy-chuong-tai-paralympic-paris-2024-676008.html