Indian athletes leave for Tokyo Paralympics

First batch of Indian athletes, including flagbearer Thangavelu Mariyappan have left for the Tokyo Paralympics on August 18, 2021.

About 2020 Summer Paralympics

2020 Summer Paralympics is branded as Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. They are an upcoming major international multi-sport parasports event. The Games are governed by International Paralympic Committee. This year will mark the 16th Summer Paralympic Games. Games are scheduled to be held in Tokyo from August 24 and it will conclude on September 5, 2021.

Background

The Games were originally scheduled to for August 25 to September 6, 2020. But they were postponed due to covid-19 pandemic. This year, games will be held behind closed doors and no public spectators have been permitted because of a state of emergency in Tokyo region.

Why games are still branded as Tokyo 2020?

The Games are still being branded as Tokyo 2020 for marketing purposes.

Host Country

Tokyo will be hosting the Games for the second time after 1964 Games. Overall, it will be third Paralympics held in Japan as it also hosted 1998 Winter Paralympics.

Which games have been added this year?

2020 Games will mark the introduction of badminton and taekwondo. Sailing and 7-a-side football games have been replaced this year.

International Paralympic Committee (IPC)

IPC is an international non-profit organisation and a governing body for Paralympic Movement. It organizes Paralympic Games and functions as an international federation for nine sports. It was established on September 22, 1989 in Dusseldorf, West Germany. It works for the mission of “enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and inspiring & exciting the world”. IPC has a democratic constitution and structure. It comprises of representatives from 176 National Paralympic Committees, 4 international organizations of sport for the disabled as well as 5 regional organizations. It is headquartered in Bonn, Germany.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2021