A ceremony to see off a Vietnamese sport delegation to the third Asian Para Games took place in Ho Chi Minh City on September 28. 

Scene at the event (Photo: VOV)

The delegation comprises 75 members, including 52 athletes, 11 coaches and caretakers.

They will compete in seven sports at the 2018 Asian Para Games, namely swimming, athletics, weightlifting, chess, badminton, table tennis, and judo.

Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Paralympic Association Vu The Phiet, head of the delegation, voiced his hope that the athletes will spare no efforts to achieve outstanding results during competitions, proving the extraordinary fortitude of Vietnamese athletes with disabilities.

The 2018 Asian Para Games is also viewed as part of the preparations towards the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020, he added.

Vietnamese athletes have joined training courses and international competitions held across the world to prepare for the continental sporting event.

Weightlifter Nguyen Van Phuc said he eyes a medal at his second appearance at the continental sporting event. Phuc previously earned a silver medal in the 59kg-category event at the ninth ASEAN Para Games in Malaysia in 2017, during which Vietnamese athletes bagged a total of 161 medals, including 40 gold medals and broke nine records of the event.

The Asian Para Games, which follows the Asian Games (ASIAD) every four years, is set to take place in Jakarta, Indonesia on October 6-13.

Disabled athletes from 43 countries would compete in 18 sports at the event. 

At the previous Asian Para Games in 2014, Vietnam won nine gold, seven silver, and 13 bronze medals, finishing tenth in the overall medal tally.-VNA