Winning only two gold medals on the first day of competition at the 7th ASEAN Para Games in 2014, the Vietnamese weightlifting team still drew attention on the competition day of 16 January. In the 49kg class, Asian champion Le Van Cong broke the Asian record with a total of 176kg.
This total equals the gold-medal-winning total at the London 2012 Paralympics in the 49kg class, set by a Nigerian lifter. Officials of the Asian Paralympic Committee present at the weightlifting venue took a particular interest in Le Van Cong’s achievement and believed that, with proper investment, Le Van Cong was fully capable of winning a medal at the 2016 Paralympics.
Besides Le Van Cong, another Vietnamese Asian weightlifting champion, Nguyen Binh An, also won the 54kg title with a total of 170kg.
Swimming continued to be a “gold mine” for Vietnamese sports for people with disabilities, winning five more gold, five silver and seven bronze medals. Among the five gold medallists, Vo Huynh Anh Khoa broke the Para Games record in the 200m freestyle.
In athletics, Vietnamese athletes won three more gold medals, thanks to Nguyen Thi Thuy (long jump, F44 disability class), Vo Thi Thu Thuan (women’s shot put, F44) and Cao Ngoc Hung (discus, F57 and F58 classes).
Minh An – According to http://hanoimoi.com.vn/