VietNamNet Bridge – Disabled Vietnamese weightlifter Le Van Cong will receive VND10 million (US$476) per month from his sponsor, the Viet Nam Institute for Biomedical Physics, for 20 months from January this year.

Le Van Cong celebrates his gold medal at the ASEAN Para Games in Myanmar last year. — Photo baohungyen.vn

The institute aims to help Cong stabilise his life to win medals in the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"Cong is the first disabled athlete to get a sponsor in Viet Nam's sporting history. It is a deserving award for Cong because besides talent, he is an example of how difficulties can be overcome by the disabled in Viet Nam's sporting world," said Pham Ngoc Son, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Sports Association for Disabled Athletes.

Born in the central province of Ha Tinh, Cong won a gold medal in the men's 48kg division in his first international tournament at the ASEAN Para Games in 2007 in Thailand.

Since then Cong, a key player of the Viet Nam team, has brought home several medals from every event.

The 30-year-old won a gold medal in the 2014 Asian Para Games held in the Metropolitan City of Incheon, South Korea, last October.

VNS