At 13th ASEAN Para Games, the Vietnam Para Powerlifting Team consisted of 16 members, including three coaches and 13 athletes. The squad featured a balanced mix of experienced athletes who have competed extensively at international level—such as Le Van Cong, Tran Binh An, Dang Thi Linh Phuong, and Chau Hoang Tuyet Loan—alongside promising young lifters including Nguyen Van Phuc, Nguyen Be Hau, Huynh Ngoc Phung, and Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy. The younger athletes demonstrated clear progress, competing with confidence and composure in their first appearance at a regional multi-sport Games.
As anticipated, this edition of the Games posed significant challenges for Vietnamese Para Powerlifting Team. In recent years, regional rivals such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia have made strong, systematic investments in para sports, building deep and well-balanced squads of young athletes. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s team is undergoing a transitional phase, with a limited pool of successors and several veteran athletes affected by age and long-term injuries.
In addition, constraints related to high-level training conditions, recovery equipment, and sports science support, along with limited opportunities for international training and competition prior to the Games, impacted the team’s ability to adapt fully to the high-intensity competitive environment. These objective and subjective factors inevitably influenced overall performance.
Nevertheless, overcoming these challenges, Vietnam’s para powerlifters once again affirmed powerlifting as one of the country’s traditional strengths. Competing with strong determination and a deep sense of national pride, the team secured 2 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze medals, ranking third behind Indonesia (8 golds, 3 silvers) and Malaysia (4 golds, 1 silver, 2 bronzes). Host nation Thailand finished fourth with 1 gold, 3 silvers, and 5 bronzes.
The achievements of the Vietnam Para Powerlifting Team made an important contribution to the overall success of the Vietnam Para Sports delegation at ASEAN Para Games 13, while powerfully reflecting the spirit of perseverance, resilience, and the enduring desire to contribute and integrate into society.
HY