Sports for the disabled: Ho Chi Minh City dominates

In fact, this is not the main goal of the host city, Ho Chi Minh City - the pioneer and the one that maintains investment in training and coaching the best disabled sports force in the country.

For the future of the movement

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many key training programs were not implemented. Then, when the Prime Minister 's Decision 67/2008 and Decree 36/2019 expired, disabled sports no longer had a legal mechanism to continue enjoying the same nutritional regime as before. This not only caused disadvantages for the athletes and coaches involved, but also strongly impacted the overall achievements of disabled sports in Vietnam.

In the context of PWD sports in countries in the region and continent being increasingly invested in professionally, the delay in policy development will cause PWD sports in Vietnam to fall behind and lose the opportunity to rise. It is time for competent authorities to take stronger and more drastic actions, for a sport that leaves no one behind.

Thể thao người khuyết tật: TP HCM áp đảo - Ảnh 1. — Awarding prizes to archery athletes. Photo: NGOC XUAN

With less than half a year to go until the 13th ASEAN Para Games, Ho Chi Minh City's hosting and successful organization of the National Championship for Disabled Sports, even with only 5 events, is a great effort, encouraging other localities to participate in building the movement. In addition to weightlifting and athletics with a fairly stable force, this National Championship is identified as an opportunity to select athletes for the national team in swimming, chess, boccia, archery and judo, preparing to participate in the 2025 ASEAN Para Games taking place in January 2026 in Thailand.

The ASEAN Para Games is organized to affirm the profound humanitarian significance of PWD sports such as creating opportunities for training, competition, social integration and affirming the will to live. This event also contributes to spreading positive values in the spirit of "Sports for all - No one is left behind", building a compassionate and united community.

Unexpected success

Competing from September 10 to 14 at many locations in Ho Chi Minh City, the 2025 National Sports Championship for the Disabled brings together 317 coaches and athletes from 9 provinces and cities. With careful preparation and a large number of athletes participating in all 5 sports, the host team of Ho Chi Minh City almost "solos" in this year's tournament.

The chess event had 70 participants and Hanoi quickly took the first place with a total of 17 gold medals, 8 silver medals and 14 bronze medals. The host team Ho Chi Minh City ranked second with 14 gold medals, 21 silver medals and 29 bronze medals. Thai Nguyen team (5 gold medals, 6 silver medals, 15 bronze medals) was the third unit on the medal tally.

In archery, the HCM City 1 team won the overall title with 6 gold medals, 7 silver medals, and 5 bronze medals, while the next two positions also belonged to the host team, including HCM City 2 (6 gold medals, 5 silver medals, 1 bronze medal) and HCM City 3 (1 bronze medal). The outstanding faces in this event include: Pham Thi Cua with 2 gold medals (women's 3-string bow 30m; mixed doubles 3-string bow 30m), Ly Cuong with 2 gold medals (mixed doubles 1-string bow 30m; men's 1-string bow 50m) and Bien Thi Chung with 2 gold medals (women's 3-string bow 50m; mixed doubles 1-string bow 50m).

The host team, Ho Chi Minh City, also won an overwhelming number of medals in swimming compared to the other teams, ranking first overall with 86 gold medals, 86 silver medals, and 26 bronze medals. The Hanoi team ranked second with 20 gold medals, 9 silver medals, and 5 bronze medals, and the Can Tho team ranked third with 4 gold medals, 11 silver medals, and 27 bronze medals.

Boccia (wooden ball) had 29 athletes competing in many categories. The host team Ho Chi Minh City participated with 20 athletes and ranked first overall with 7 gold medals, 4 silver medals, 3 bronze medals, including all gold medals in 7 competition events. Dong Nai team with 3 silver medals ranked second and Quang Ngai team ranked third with 4 bronze medals.

In Judo, Ho Chi Minh City 1 won 7 gold medals, 2 bronze medals; Ho Chi Minh City 2 won 2 gold medals, 3 silver medals, 4 bronze medals, Ho Chi Minh City 3 with 6 silver medals, 3 bronze medals, sharing the top three positions in the overall rankings.

The Organizing Committee has coordinated with the medical team of the Sports Medicine and Science Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Sports Training and Competition Center and the Ho Chi Minh City Orthopedic and Trauma Hospital to examine and classify injuries for athletes, ensuring the handling of problems arising during the competition, ensuring accuracy and absolute safety for athletes.