Vietnam wins 40 medals, ranking 12th at Asian Para Games

Vietnam bagged a total of 40 medals, including eight gold, eight silver and 24 bronze medals, ranking 12^th at the freshly-concluded 2018 Asian Para Games in Indonesia.

Vietnamese athletes at the 2018 Asian Para Games pose for a photo together with Tran Minh Cu, Counsellor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia, before returning home. (Photo: VNA)

The continent’s biggest sports event for athletes with disabilities took place from October 6-13.

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

They competed in seven out of 18 sports, namely swimming, track and field, weightlifting, chess, badminton, table tennis and judo.

Except for judo, athletes in six other sports brought home medals. Notably, all four weightlifters won medals, including two golds, one silver and one bronze.

In addition, Vietnamese swimmers pocketed four gold, four silver and 13 bronze medals. Swimmer Vo Thanh Tung broke an Asian record and two records of the Games.

Tung was among outstanding athletes honoured at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Asian Para Games, which took place in Jakarta, Indonesia, on October 13 evening.

China topped the overall rankings of the 2018 Asian Para Games with 172 golds, followed by the Republic of Korea with 53 gold medals.

The Asian Para Games, which follows the Asian Games every four years, attracted around 3,000 athletes from 43 countries and territories in Asia this year.

At the previous Asian Para Games in 2014, Vietnam won nine gold, seven silver, and 13 bronze medals, finishing 10th in the overall medal tally./.

VNF/VNA