Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games: All you need to know

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games opened on 24 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, post a year-long pandemic delay and will close on 5 September 2021. The name ‘Tokyo 2020’ is not changed to ‘Tokyo 2021’ due to marketing and branding reasons. 

#OpeningCeremony day.

That’s it. That’s the tweet.

— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 24, 2021

The event will be held behind closed doors with no public spectators and will witness the participation of around 4,500 athletes across 22 sports. Badminton and Taekwondo will make their debut at the 2020 Paralympic Games. Boccia and Goalball are unique to Paralympics. 

History of Paralympics

Sir Ludwig Guttmann laid the idea of Stoke Mandeville Games for the Paralyzed. The Games were held on the grounds of a hospital that treated injured war veterans. It featured 16 people competing in Archery.  

The game grew into Paralympics, and the first paralympic Games took place in 1960 in Rome, featuring 400 athletes from 23 countries. The name Paralympics indicates an event happening in parallel, alongside the Olympics.

Paralympians with vision impairments use assistants while competing in a particular sport. For instance, guide runners are attached to Paralympians by a strap on their hands or arms and the athlete must finish ahead of the guide. 

Tappers are used by visually impaired swimmers who tap the athlete's head or body as they approach turns or the finish to keep them safe. 

Tokyo 2020 Paralympics: List of Games and Sports

1- Archery

2- Athletics

3- Badminton

4- Boccia

5- Canoe Sprint

6- Cycling Road and Cycling Track

7- Equestrian

8- Football 5-a-side

9- Goalball

10- Judo

11- Powerlifting

12- Rowing

13- Shooting

14- Sitting Volleyball

15- Swimming

16- Table Tennis

17- Taekwondo

18- Triathlon

19- Wheelchair Basketball

20- Wheelchair Fencing

21- Wheelchair Rugby

22- Wheelchair Tennis

Tokyo 2020 Paralympics: Design of the medals

Designed by Saklko Matsumoto, Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic medals were constructed using recycled metals obtained through an electronics recycling programme. 

They feature a traditional Japanese fan motif, depicting the Paralympic Games as the source of a fresh new wind refreshing the world, as well as a shared experience connecting diverse hearts and minds. 

The pivot where the fan meets symbolises the unity of Paralympic athletes. The obverse of the medal contains an untextured version of the fan pattern, the Paralympic emblem, and inscriptions in braille. 

To aid athletes with visual impairments, the edges and ribbons of the medals contain one, two, or three circular indentations and silicone convex dots for gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively.

Criteria for Paralympics

Paralympics falls broadly into three categories-- physical impairments, vision impairment and intellectual impairment. Within each category, athletes are assessed to see whether they meet a minimum impairment level, to ensure a fair playing field. They then compete in different categories within a given sport based on their particular impairment. Athletes may be reclassified over their lifetime as their situation changes.

India at Paralympics

Indian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since 1984. India made its official debut at the Games in the 1968 Summer Paralympics. 

A total of 54 athletes will compete in Tokyo 2020 Paralympics across nine para-sports including – Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Canoeing, Shooting, Swimming, Powerlifting, Table Tennis and Taekwondo. The Indian contingent will have 14 Female and 40 Male athletes. Mariyappan will be the flagbearer at the opening ceremony for India.

Also Read- Tokyo 2020 Olympics (2020 Summer Olympics): Here's all you need to know about the 'Games of the XXXII Olympiad'