National festival for hundreds of disabled athletes
(VOV) - The national sports tournament for disabled people kicked off in Hanoi on July 24, attracting 833 athletes from 31 cities and provinces across the country.
Athletes are competing in track and field, swimming, table tennis, badminton, weightlifting and chess, vying for 700 sets of medals.
Track and field has the most events, with 154 for males and 136 for females. Chess has the least events with 8 for males and females each.
This year’s tournament is divided into two groups: the championship for athletes aged above 15 years of age, and the youth tournament for two age groups (14-16 years old and 17-21 years old).
Vu The Phiet, general secretary of the Vietnam Paralympics Association, said young prospective athletes from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Quang Tri expect to make the tournament’s competitions fiercer.
Best athletes will be selected for the national team to compete in the ASEAN Paragames 2014 to be held in Myanmar in January next year.
The tournament will last through to July 28.