Boccia Preview

Boccia provides a true test of an athlete’s technique, nerve, and ability to perform under pressure 30 Aug 2012
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Nigel Murray

Nigel Murray is arugably the most experienced player on Great Britain's Boccia team.

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Boccia was introduced to the Paralympic programme in the New York and Stoke Mandeville Games in 1984 and sees players with cerebral palsy and other physical impairments compete in a battle of wits.

Dates: 2 September - 8 September

Venue: ExCeL

Number of Athletes: 104

Medal Events: 7

Ones to Watch: Greg Polychronidis (Greece), Nigel Murray (Great Britain), Marco Dispaltro (Canada), Hoi Ying Karen Kwok (Hong Kong)

World number one Nigel Murray’s battle with Hong Kong rival Hoi Ying Karen Kwok will be one of a host of fascinating clashes in a sport that tests athletes’ nerves and skill.

Boccia was introduced to the Paralympic programme in the New York and Stoke Mandeville Games in 1984 and sees players with cerebral palsy and other physical impairments compete in a battle of wits.

Great Britain’s Murray is the world number one in the BC2 class, and won gold at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games as an individual and gold in the BC1/2 team event.

But Murray lost out in the individual final to Karen Kwok, and the pair are again expected to vie for the main prize this year.

In the BC3 category, Greece’s Grigorios Polychronidis is a strong favourite for the podium, as he goes into the Games ranked world number one in the pairs and third in the individual competition.

At the Athens 2004 Paralympics, he came sixth, in Beijing 2008 he won silver, and in London he’ll be going for gold in the individual event.

With his teammates Nikos Pananos and Marilena Kordali, he is also the firm favourite in the BC3 team event.

Polychronidis’ biggest challenge in London will be to counter the Korean team’s aggressive play, with Ho Won Jeong and Han Soo Kim likely to be his toughest opponents.

There is a rising star in the BC4 category in Canada’s Marco Dispaltro, who has moved quickly up the ranks to become a medal contender in London.

“This is my first Paralympics as a player, but before that I was a manager for Team Canada wheelchair rugby,” Dispaltro said.

“I’m currently ranked number four in the world, my partner Josh Vander Vies and I are number six in the doubles, so I think we’ve got a great chance to win some medals. I can’t wait for it now.”

Norwegian Roger Aandalen has been playing Boccia since 1986, and London will be his fifth Paralympics.

As a veteran of the sport, the BC1 player said the game had dramatically transformed over the last six years.

“The players are much better, and the balls too,” explained Aandalen, who won silver in the individual BC1 event at Athens 2004.

“When I started on the national team, we had no options of choosing balls. Today we have a lot of options.”

Boccia, which has ancient Greek origins, is now played in more than 50 countries worldwide, and will start on 2 September at the ExCeL.

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