In the medal results of Vietnamese disabled sports at the 13th ASEAN Para Games this time, many achievements left memorable memories.
Athlete Vo Huynh Anh Khoa is the first person to win a gold medal for the Vietnamese disabled sports delegation at ASEAN Para Games 13 after winning the men's 400m freestyle event in the S8 disability category. Following that result, Anh Khoa personally won another gold medal in the men's 100m backstroke in the S7-S8 disability category.
This is a victory with many efforts from Anh Khoa. Each result is a value and will of the athlete. When Anh Khoa won the first gold medal for the Vietnamese Paralympic Delegation in Thailand this time, everyone's feeling is very happy with that achievement," said Mr. Tran Duc Tho, General Secretary of the Vietnam Paralympic Committee.
Few people know that Vo Huynh Anh Khoa was once admired by the triathlon sports world when the young man from Ho Chi Minh City participated and completed the Ironman 70.3 race in Phu Quoc held in 2023.
Anh Khoa completed the competition like normal athletes with a distance of 750 m swimming, 20km cycling, 5km jogging. At this time, Anh Khoa is considered the first disabled athlete in Vietnam to conquer the fierce Ironman 70.3 triathlon competition.
Vo Huynh Anh Khoa was born in 1991 with normal health. However, in 1997, at the age of 6, Anh Khoa was diagnosed with spinal cancer and the consequence was that his legs were atrophied and completely paralyzed, unable to walk. After chemotherapy and therapy, Anh Khoa came to swimming and his health improved, and his legs could walk again.
Mr. Khoa once shared that sports bring him things that he had never thought of before.
At the 13th ASEAN Para Games, disabled track and field athlete Nguyen Thi Hai continued to leave her mark with a double gold medal in the F57 disabled women's discus throw and weightlifting event.
Exactly 20 years ago, Nguyen Thi Hai started participating in the 2005 ASEAN Para Games in the Philippines and won 3 gold medals in discus throw, weightlifting, and throw throw in athletics competitions. After 20 years, even at the age of 40, Nguyen Thi Hai still maintains her form to continue to surpass herself and win medals as expected.
At the launching ceremony of the Vietnamese Sports Delegation for People with Disabilities before going to Thailand to compete, Nguyen Thi Hai once cautiously shared: "I will try to compete with all my ability. When not competing, athletes have the opportunity to achieve the same results, so I cannot say anything early.
Two gold medals of Nguyen Thi Hai at ASEAN Para Games 13 once again affirm that she is still a qualified athlete that all opponents must be wary of.
Participating in the 13th ASEAN Para Games at the age of 32, tennis player Pham The Tien (invalids class TT9) helps people who specialize in Vietnamese disabled table tennis relieve the thirst for medals that has been waiting for more than 10 years.
Pham The Tien won a silver medal at ASEAN Para Games 13. Representatives of the Vietnamese Sports Delegation for People with Disabilities said that the medal in table tennis this time is a professionally valuable result because it shows that the opportunity for success for Vietnamese athletes has never closed.
ASEAN Para Games 13 also marked the medal achievement of swordsman Truong Thi Van Anh in the wheelchair sword event. She won a silver medal in the wheelchair sword event in Thailand this year.
At the age of 35, the Vietnamese female athlete with a disability once shared that she has a strong passion for swordplay.
Health does not give her the ability to compete on her feet. However, Van Anh still strives to practice and overcome the biggest challenges to come to ASEAN Para Games 13.
After 17 years, wheelchair fencing has just been re-organized at the ASEAN Para Games (the most recent time was in 2008 in Thailand), but we have had an encouraging medal.
