Some 155 Vietnamese athletes with disabilities will attend the 11th Southeast Asian Para Games (ASEAN Para Games 2022) in Indonesia next month, according to the General Department of Sports and Physical Training under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The Vietnamese delegation will include one guiding athlete, 18 coaches, two doctors, and 13 support personnel. The rest are Vietnamese parasports athletes who will compete in eight events: track and field, swimming, weightlifting, badminton, table tennis, chess, judo, and archery.

On July 23, a departure ceremony will be held to see off the Vietnamese delegation at the National Sports Training Center in Ho Chi Minh City. It is expected that on July 26 or 27, the Vietnamese delegation will join the Games.

Weightlifter Le Van Cong is the golden hope of Vietnam's disabled team at the ASEAN Para Games 2022 in Indonesia. Photo: Vietnam Youth Union

The Vietnam Paralympic Committee has asked the General Department of Sports and Physical Training to organize training courses for local athletes to prepare for the Games.

Some members with excellent achievements will be present at the Para Games 2022 including Le Van Cong, Chau Hoang Tuyet Loan, Dang Thi Linh Phuong, Cao Ngoc Hung, and Nguyen Thi Hai.

The ASEAN Para Games 2022 will take place from July 26 to August 7 with 14 sports: archery, athletics, badminton, boccia, Cerebral Palsy football, chess, goalball, judo, powerlifting, table tennis, swimming, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, and sitting volleyball.

The regional competition for athletes with disabilities is usually organized after the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games by the same host country.

The 31st SEA Games and 11th Para Games were initially planned for December 2021 in Vietnam. But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam delayed the first to May and will not hold the second event.

After five years since the ASEAN Para Games 2017, athletes with disabilities will eventually be able to attend the largest sports festival in Southeast Asia.

The ASEAN Para Games 2022 is a qualifier for athletes to win tickets to Paralympic Paris 2024. In addition, it is also a premise for athletes to prepare for ASEAN Para Games 4 scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, China in 2023.

In addition to the nine sub-committees established by the ASEAN Para Sports Federation Board of Governors, the 11th ASEAN Para Games will set up an additional Technical Central Committee and Para Games Standing Committee to handle the logistics.

At the previous 2017 Paralympic Games in Malaysia, Indonesia topped the rankings, followed by Malaysia and Thailand. Vietnam ranked fourth.