Constantly rising throughout the journey of formation and development
The period from 1995 to 2007 was the period when the movement of physical training and sports for people with disabilities (PWDs) in the country began to take shape. However, the first time the National Games in Quang Tri province was held in 1997, it attracted more than 600 athletes to participate. Not only the domestic movement has been developed, but the position of Viet Nam Sports for People with Disabilities in the regional arena has also been gradually affirmed through each Congress.
In 2001, Viet Nam participated in the Southeast Asian Para Games with 45 athletes, ranking 4th. By the 2nd Asian Games, held in Viet Nam in 2003, the Viet Nam Sports for People with Disabilities quickly improved its performance to the second position of the whole team and continued to maintain this ranking at the 3rd Games held in Manila in 2005. Since then, the disability sports movement has developed strongly in many localities (45/63) provinces and cities; 33-35 provinces and cities regularly have athletes participating in national competitions and tournaments, attracting 1300 athletes to participate, the number of people with disabilities participating in sports activities is over 25,000 people.
The position of Sports for People with Disabilities is constantly affirmed in the continental arena. At the 1st Asian Paralympic Games, in 2010 in Guangzhou, the Vietnamese Paralympic Sports Team ranked 12th out of 43 (3 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 10 bronze medals), to the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, the achievements of Viet Nam Sports for People with Disabilities have improved to 10th out of 45 countries and territories (9 gold medals, 7 silver medals and 13 bronze medals).
Not stopping there, Viet Nam Sports for People with Disabilities reached out to the world arena to write its name in the Gold Medal of the largest multi-sport event on the planet for Paralympic athletes. At the 15th Paralympics taking place in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil in 2016 with the participation of 4.358 athletes from 162 countries and territories, the Viet Nam Paralympic Sports Team competed in 3 out of the 23 events at the Games, successfully winning 1 gold medal, 1 silver medal, and 2 bronze medals, ranking 55th out of 162 countries and territories. This is considered the greatest success of Viet Nam Sports for People with Disabilities after 20 years of establishment and development.
In reality, it has also been observed that each year, the quality of the movement for people with disabilities participating in sports training improves compared to the previous year. The number of sports clubs for people with disabilities, private facilities, rehabilitation centers, and centers for educating disadvantaged children has been consolidated and their quality has been enhanced (490 facilities). The number of people with disabilities who regularly practice at sports clubs exceeds 8.000 per year (according to reports from provinces and cities), with a total of over 30.000 people participating in regular training. Notable examples include the provinces and cities: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Can Tho, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Quang Tri, Thai Nguyen, Thai Binh, Khanh Hoa, Nam Dinh, Ha Nam, Lang Son ...attracting over 2.300 members in sports such as: Swimming, Weightlifting, Athletics, Blind Judo, Wheelchair Tennis, Archery, Taekwondo, Yoga, Dance Sports, Esports... Domestic sports competitions are increasingly attracting a large number of organizations and clubs for people with disabilities. On average, each year, it attracts over 1.200 – 1.300 athletes and coaches from 33-35 provinces and cities to participate...
Continue to assert position with specific goals
Viet Nam Sports for People with Disabilities have set goals and solutions to continue affirming their position, aiming for international recognition by 2030 and beyond, integrating into the nation's era of advancement.
The period from 2024 to 2030 aims to strongly promote the movement, with the goal of having 70% of the 63 provinces and cities in Viet Nam establishing sports clubs for people with disabilities and ensuring that sports facilities are accessible to them. Expand, popularize, and develop 15 sports (Athletics, Swimming, Weightlifting, Chess, Table Tennis, Badminton, Blind Judo, Taekwondo, Archery, Wheelchair Tennis, Dance Sports, Yoga, Blind Football (5 players), Esports, Pickleball, and Boccia, Park Golf) for people with disabilities to practice, attracting 35.000-40.000 participants. Perfect the annual national championship system with events: Badminton, Table Tennis, Weightlifting, Athletics, Swimming, Chess, and Pickleball, attracting over 1.300 athletes to participate.
Paralympic sports also aims to build a successor force through the system of talented student athletes at the provincial and city levels, as well as to maintain 55-60 athletes (adding 10-15 young athletes), who regularly train at national and local sports training centers to be ready for international competitions.
Along with that, there is a focus on regional, continental, and world competitions with specific goals such as aiming for the top 4 at the 13th Southeast Asian Games in Thailand; the goal of winning a gold medal at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan in 2026; striving to have 7-10 athletes meet the standards to participate in the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics in three key sports: athletics, swimming, and weightlifting (with the goal of winning medals).
Building a focused solution system to realize the set goals
To build a system of solutions aimed at effectively implementing the set goals and contributing to the realization of the Strategy, Sports for People with Disabilities also candidly acknowledges the existing shortcomings and challenges. That is the fact that some provinces and cities have not yet fully recognized the benefits of sports in changing the lives of people with disabilities, contributing to social stability.
While the disabled athletes of leading countries in the world are very young, have outstanding achievements, and their athlete training quality is highly specialized, Viet Nam's disabled sports still lack a source of young athletes to succeed them.
In addition, the conditions for training facilities are still limited, lacking synchronization and not yet highly professional; the team of coaches and collaborators is still insufficient; coaches with advanced training qualifications do not meet the actual needs; the team for disability classification is still thin, with limited professional capacity and foreign language knowledge...
From the aforementioned reality, in the coming time, Viet Nam Sports for People with Disabilities will focus on enhancing the effectiveness of communication work within the community about the effects and benefits of practicing sports for improving physical fitness and health, helping the disabled integrate into the community, and creating conditions for them to have the resilience to rise and take control of their lives.
Closely coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training, various associations, federations, and national sports associations to develop movements, grassroots clubs, organize competitions, and create sports playgrounds within the community.
Orientation towards developing high-performance for Sports for People with Disabilities aims to select young athletes as a solution that Sports for People with Disabilities is pursuing to build a successor force.
Mobilizing social resources, promoting the role of socialization support, and accompanying Sports for People with Disabilities events; Supporting disabled athletes when they retire from competition is one of the key areas that disabled sports focus on integrating into the solution system so that sports can truly become a bridge to help disabled individuals actively integrate into the community and create conditions for them to have the courage to rise up and take control of their lives.
Huyen Trang