Vietnam bagged several gold medals in swimming and athletics on September 21, the fourth official competition day at the ongoing ninth ASEAN Para Games held in Malaysia.

Vietnamese swimmer Vo Thanh Tung

Swimmer Vo Thanh Tung won a gold medal at men’s S5 100m backstroke event, clocking 1’26”77, and breaking the Games’ record of 1’36”80.

Tung also bagged one more gold medal at men’s 50m freestyle event, setting a new record of 34”50.

Meanwhile, Vo Huynh Anh Khoa triumphed at men’s S9 50m freestyle event to earn gold, and  Trinh Bich Nhu gained a gold medal in women’s S7 50m freestyle with a new Games’ record time of 37”43.

Earlier on September 20, Nhu also broke her own ASEAN Para Games record in the women’s SB5 100m breaststroke event for a gold.

Athletics also brought home two gold medals, with one of Kieu Minh Trung at men’s F55 javelin throw and another of Truong Bich Van at the same event for women.

As of 1pm on September 21, Vietnam bagged a total of 121 medals, including 31 gold, 46 silver and 48 bronze medals, standing at the fourth place on the medal tally.

Indonesia was at the top with 84 golds, followed by host Malaysia with 66 and Thailand with 38 golds.

The ASEAN Para Games is a biannual multi-sport event held after every Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) for ASEAN athletes with physical disabilities.

The ASEAN Para Games 2017, which will last until September 23, has seen the participation of all 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, along with Timor Leste.

Vietnamese players vie for medals in eight events, including swimming, track-and-field, weightlifting, chess, badminton, boccia, football for the visually-impaired and table tennis.

VNA