HA NOI — Vietnamese team will leave this week to train in Ireland for the London Paralympic Games which begin on August 29 and close on September 9.

The 11 athletes will be led at this point by Viet Nam Paralympic Association deputy chairman and general secretary Vu The Phiet.

They will be based at the University of Limerick Sports Arena where they will train and acclimatise until August 9.

They will compete in the Morton Pre-Games against Irish and international athletes in Dublin on July 25.

All accommodation and training expenses will be funded by Irish Aid and Irish Sports Council.

They will then move to UK's Bradford College for the next training programme.

Earlier, 11 athletes were given a month-long English class, supported by the British Council.

Meanwhile, send-off ceremony for the Vietnamese delegation will be held in HCM City today.

In London, athletes will compete in athletics, swimming, and powerlifting.

During a visit to Viet Nam last week British Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne met the team in HCM City.

"I strongly believe that this will be the greatest Paralympics ever held," he said.

"It will be the best atmosphere that you have ever competed in. I hope it will inspire a generation of Vietnamese people to have a passion for all sports and also inspire Vietnamese people with physical disabilities to play a maximum role," he said.

The team will be led in the Paralympic Games by Pham Van Tuan, Deputy Head of the Administration of Sports and Physical Training. — VNS