Asian Para Games: Athletes ready to put on exciting show in Hangzhou

The Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games will open on 22 October 2023, with more than 3.000 athletes, including Paralympic champions and young stars, ready to put on an incredible show in the Chinese city. 

With three days to go until the Opening Ceremony, the torch relay started in Hangzhou, building excitement for the Games that will be held after a one-year delay. A total of 600 people will carry the flame, which was lit last week in Guangzhou, China, where the inaugural Asian Para Games were held in 2010.

The fourth Asian Para Games will see the Para athletes competing across 22 sports, including Para taekwondo and Para canoe that will make their Games debut in Hangzhou. 

The championships will also serve as an important stop on the road to the Paris 2024 Paralympics, which will take place next year.

Hangzhou 2022 sports programme

The Hangzhou 2022 sports programme include 19 sports that will be contested at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. 

The Paralympic sports are Para archery, Para athletics, Para badminton, boccia, Para canoe, Para cycling, blind football, goalball, Para judo, Para powerlifting, Para rowing, shooting Para sport, Para swimming, Para taekwondo, Para table tennis, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing and wheelchair tennis.

Para athletics will be the largest sport contested in Hangzhou, with a total of 656 athletes heading to the Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium for six days of competition. 

China will have the largest team with 439 athletes – double the size from the previous Asian Para Games in 2018 – with hopes of continuing their dominance in the sport after topping the medals table at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

In addition to the 19 Paralympic sports, chess, lawn bowls and go will also be featured in Hangzhou. 

New sports

Of the 19 Paralympic sports, Para canoe and Para taekwondo will be staged at the Asian Para Games for the first time. 

Para canoe will feature 10 events being contested at the Fuyang Water Sports Centre on 23 and 24 October. No Asian country has won a medal in Para canoe since it was introduced at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and so it is hoped that this debut appearance will encourage future Paralympic success. 

Meanwhile, after a successful Paralympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games, Para taekwondo is expected to be one of the major highlights at Hangzhou 2022. 

A total of 77 fighters from 17 nations will be vying for top honours in 10 events at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Centre, with high level skills and technique on display for three days starting 23 October. 

Uzbekistan’s Isakova Ziyodakhon is among the athletes to watch in Para taekwondo. She announced her arrival on the big stage after winning the women K44 -47kg at the recent World Championships in Veracruz, halting Peru’s Paralympic champion Leonor Angélica Espinoza’s winning run for her first Worlds title.

The Asian Para Games were originally scheduled to take place from 9 to 15 October 2022, nevertheless, the event was pushed to 2023 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Booking tickets for Paris 2024

With less than a year to go until Paris 2024, the Asian Para Games serve as a Paralympic qualification opportunity for some of the sports contested in Hangzhou. 

In shooting Para sport, athletes can book qualification slots for their National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) in certain designated events; while in Para table tennis, one slot will go to the winner of each singles event.

In wheelchair tennis, the winners in the men’s and women’s singles tournament will earn tickets to Paris. Japanese stars Yui Kamiji and Tokito Oda are among the favourites to win the women’s and men’s events, respectively.

Follow the Games

Visit the Asian Para Games website for more information, including the competition schedule and results.