PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS

With Paralympic Winter Games qualification on the line, six nations clash in one of the most competitive B-Pool tournaments yet

Team Italy, the host nation of the forthcoming Paralympic Winter Games in 2026, enters the World Para Ice Hockey Championships B-Pool with a mix of experience and renewed determination, aiming to reclaim their spot in the A-Pool after recent setbacks. They play their opening game against Finland on 6 September.

Three winter athletes will be elected during the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games

Ranked No. 2 in the tournament, Japan will look to build on their golden campaign in Astana 2023 and reclaim their place among the sport’s elite group. They open their campaign against France on 6 September.

Catching up with French Paralympic champions Alexis Hanquinquant and Alexandre Leaute one year after Paris 2024

The 1994 Paralympic gold medallist enters Astana 2025 with sights set on promotion to the A‑Pool and qualification for the Milano‑Cortina 2026 Winter Games. They open their campaign against Kazakhstan on 6 September.

Finland returns to the B-Pool for the third time after winning the C-Pool World Championships in 2024. The team from Nordic region, which last appeared in the B-Pool event in 2023, aim for securing a spot in the Paralympic Winter Games for the first time.

Dr Christiane Schenderlein, Germany’s newly appointed State Minister for Sport and Volunteering, visited the IPC Campus in Bonn, Germany

France, the bronze medallist at 2022 C-Pool Worlds, enters the B-Pool tournament in Astana with steady momentum and a goal to break into the top tier of international Para ice hockey. They open their campaign against Japan on September 6.

Kazakhstan, who burst onto the international stage with a silver at the 2022 C‑Pool Worlds, will be aiming for a podium spot at the 2025 World Para Ice Hockey Championships B-Pool that will be competed by six national teams over six days in Astana. The host, led by Aidos Toktarbayev, opens their campaign against Sweden on September 6.