Vietnamese swimmers eye Paralympics entry
Xinhua, July 5, 2015 Adjust font size:
The four-member Vietnamese swimming team with disabilities is ready for the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Scotland, from July 13-19, local newspaper Vietnam News reported Sunday.
"They aim to earn 11 A standards to qualify for the 2016 Paralympics Games in Brazil. If the team is lucky enough, it can earn one medal in Glasgow," said coach Dong Quoc Cuong.
The biggest hope is pinned on Asian gold medalist Vo Thanh Tung, who competed at the London Paralympics Games in 2012. Tung, born in southern Can Tho city, will compete in five different categories of men's 50m freestyle-S5, 100m freestyle-S5, 200m freestyle-S5, 50m butterfly-S5 and 50m backstroke-S5.
In the above categories, the 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle are Tung's strongest points with times of 34.6sec and 1:19.6. He is the Asian record holder in these disciplines.
At the 2014 Asian Para Games held in October last year in South Korea, Tung bagged five gold medals in the same categories he will compete in Scotland.
Tung, who contracted polio when he was four, topped the list of Vietnam's five best athletes with disabilities in 2014. Endi