Vanthong Samlane and Pha Manyvong (left) pose during training in Vientiane on Wednesday.                                               --Photo Vanthong

Pha to compete in qualifiers of Asian Para Games

Laos’ top taekwondo fighter, Pha Manyvong,
will take part in the qualification tournament of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, on May 26.
Pha, 25 years old, is now in Vientiane training for the event. He was born in Vangvieng district, Vientiane province, and had his right arm amputated above the elbow after falling from a tree at the age of five.
Pha reached the quarter finals on his international Para taekwondo debut.
He competed at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in Japan and will strive for further success in the hope of a Paralympic debut.
In 2019 he won a bronze medal at the Amman Asian Taekwondo Championships in Jordan, after making a memorable debut at the 2017 World Taekwondo (WT) Asian Para Taekwondo Open in Chuncheon, South Korea.
“At the start of the match I was nervous, but once it kicked off, I enjoyed it very much,” he said of his first international fight.
It was a historic moment for Laos’ only disabled fighter, who took up the sport in April 2017.
He had always wanted to be an athlete, but did not know in which sport.
He has shown that he is a great fighter and has high hopes of rising up the rankings with more rigorous training.
The Lao team was able to compete for the first time thanks to the WT’s 2017 Booyoung Para Taekwondo Development Programme.
“We are very happy and grateful to be here. We appreciate that the WT Para Taekwondo Department and the Laos Taekwondo Federation have given us huge support,” said coach Vanthong Samlane.
“I found Manyvong at a special education school. We started training together twice a week, after I decided to form a national team,” Vanthong said.
He is hopeful that Manyvong can reach his Paralympic Games goal, despite there being no Para taekwondo events in Laos.
“I will prepare a specific training programme,” Vanthong said. “I will try to make him fight more competitively in order to increase his performance level.”
“What we need most at present is regular financial support from the federation,” he added.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update May 19, 2022)