Paralympics 2024: Vietnamese athletes ready for first competition

Currently, the spirit and physical condition of Vietnamese athletes are very good and they are actively training to prepare for the upcoming competition days at the 2024 Paralympics.

The Vietnamese disabled sports delegation took a souvenir photo in the common room. (Photo: Ngoc Hiep/VNA)

The Vietnamese Paralympic Sports Delegation, including 7 athletes, is in intensive training days before entering the first competition at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. On this occasion, VNA reporters in France visited the athletes where they are staying and training. The athletes' village in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris, building D5, floors 9-10, is where the Vietnamese delegation has been allocated 4 apartments to stay during the 2024 Paralympics. On the balcony, some male athletes are busy hanging red flags with yellow stars to promote the presence of Vietnam. In her bedroom, athlete Dang Thi Linh Phuong is rearranging her belongings. The room is simply decorated, with minimal items such as a bed, wardrobe, blanket, and pillow.

Athlete Dang Thi Linh Phuong is rearranging her belongings in her bedroom at the Olympic Village. (Photo: Ngoc Hiep/VNA)

In the common room, other members of the delegation were sitting and chatting happily. Each person had their own work, but it seemed that everyone was excited and nervous, looking forward to the upcoming competitions. Sharing with VNA reporters, athlete Nguyen Binh An said that before participating in the congress, he had received a lot of encouragement from his family, friends and domestic fans, so he always tried to ensure his health to achieve good results. He said that although he had prepared everything to compete, when he arrived, he found that all the conditions were very good, from accommodation to meals. However, to control his body weight, he only maintained it at 60% of his eating capacity to maintain his weight class.

A corner of the Sports Village for disabled athletes in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris. (Photo: Thu Ha/VNA)

Athlete Chau Hoang Tuyet Loan said that the food here is delicious and rich, because she is still within her weight limit and can eat a lot, so she really wants to eat rice because it is the dish that helps her gain weight the fastest. She also often adds milk to her daily diet. Athlete Dang Thi Linh Phuong expressed her purpose of participating in the 2024 Paris Paralympics is to "win a Bronze Medal like the achievement she achieved at the 2016 Rio Paralympics." She also said that this is a good opportunity to improve her economic conditions, and at the same time, to make it "impossible for others to look down on me." Talking about her chance to join weightlifting, she said that her family did not want her to play this sport and sometimes she wanted to give up because of the hardship, fatigue and hard training, but then with the desire to change her life, with the desire to go out into the world to observe, learn and broaden her horizons, along with the encouragement and facilitation of the Vietnam Paralympic Association and Committee, all of these things became the driving force that pushed her to rise up, achieving many good results not only in the domestic arena, but also in the region and the world. Mr. Nguyen Hong Minh - Deputy Director of the Department of Physical Training and Sports, Head of the Vietnam Disabled Sports Delegation - said that the Organizing Committee had arranged very good accommodation and training conditions for Vietnamese athletes, as well as for other delegations. The cafeteria is open 24/7, the dishes are rich and suitable for the athletes' tastes. Currently, the spirit and physical condition of Vietnamese athletes are very good and they are actively training to prepare for the upcoming competition days. Mr. Nguyen Hong Minh expressed: "The delegation hopes that the athletes will win medals at this Paralympic Games. Hopefully, with a serious training attitude, they will strive to achieve their goals."

Weightlifters during practice. (Photo: VNA)

Meanwhile, Mr. Huynh Vinh Ai - Chairman of the Vietnam Paralympic Committee - highly appreciated the national spirit of the Vietnamese delegation, always wearing uniforms and raising the Vietnamese flag high everywhere, every time. He shared: "The whole nation entrusts the weight and tasks to the athletes and the brothers understand this. We also encourage them to try to achieve results and they also promised for the national pride of each person." According to the competition schedule, on September 1, athletes Do Thanh Hai and Le Tien Dat will participate in the 100m breaststroke qualifying round. On September 5, there will be the qualifying round for track and field athlete Pham Nguyen Khanh Minh (400m distance), and the medal matches for weightlifters Le Van Cong (49kg men), Nguyen Binh An (54kg men), Dang Thi Linh Phuong (50kg women) and Chau Hoang Tuyet Loan (55kg women). Athlete Nguyen Binh An expressed his wish to see the support of the large Vietnamese community in France in the stands, because that will be the strength to help the athletes "explode to compete with all their might." With favorable conditions for eating, living and training, and with an optimistic spirit, he hopes that Vietnamese disabled athletes will achieve the best results in the upcoming competitions.

Vietnamplus.vn

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/paralympic-2024-van-dong-vien-viet-nam-da-san-sang-cho-cuoc-tranh-tai-dau-tien-post973550.vnp