Vietnamese athletes with disabilities ready to compete at Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

The team of athletes with disabilities of Vietnam will arrive at Narita International Airport (Tokyo, Japan) on August 20, ready to participate in the games’ matches.

The team of athletes with disabilities of Vietnam to attend the team of athletes with disabilities of Vietnam. Photo: VNA

According to the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, the delegation comprises 15 members, including seven athletes who will compete in weightlifting, swimming, and athletics.

Athlete Nguyen Thanh Trung, who is in high hope to win the medal for the Vietnamese swimming team, was unable to attend this year's Olympics for not meeting the conditions of the Organizing Committee.

The Vietnamese delegation will attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on the evening of August 24 with a maximum of two athletes and one coach for each sport. Then, on August 25, members of the swimming team will enter the competition. Athletes in weightlifting will compete on August 26 and finally in athletics on August 27.

Due to the complicated outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the host country Japan requires sports delegations from all over the world to register their activities in advance.

Accordingly, the delegation from Vietnam has already filled all required information of the Organizing Committee, including providing personal information of athletes, flight schedules to and from Tokyo, negative results of PCR tests of three consecutive days prior to the arrival to Japan.

During their stay in Japan, members of sport delegations are only allowed to travel from the airport to the Paralympic village and from the village to the training sites, the competition venues, and dining areas.

Five years ago, Vietnamese athletes with disabilities made their mark at the Rio 2016 Paralympics when they won one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals.

Vietnamese weightlifting athlete Le Van Cong (1984) crowned the men’s 49 kg event at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Paralympics. He became the first Vietnamese athlete to win a gold medal in the history of the Summer Paralympics. Photo: VNA

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will be held in Tokyo, Japan between 24 August and 5 September 2021. The games will feature 539 events across 22 sports with the participation of 4.400 athletes worldwide.

Originally scheduled to take place between 25 August and 6 September 2020, both the Olympics and Paralympics were postponed to 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The events are still being branded as Tokyo 2020 for marketing purposes.

Earlier, Japan has had announced plans to ensure the safe and successful hosting of the Olympics. Just like the 2020 Summer Olympics, audiences can only spectate the games via live broadcasting channels.

The traditional ritual of the Paralympic Games, the torch relay on the streets and in the downtown square in Tokyo will be canceled. Instead, a torch-lighting ceremony will be organized simply with a limited number of people to prevent the risk of coronavirus transmission.