Day 6: Paralympic Games preview

Shooting will make its Tokyo 2020 appearance while powerlifting proceedings will be wrapped up on Day 6 of competitions. Equestrian events will also come to an end with the final five gold medals in the offering.

The busy day will see 52 finals being conducted even as preliminary league action will continue in boccia while in football 5-a-side big guns Brazil take on hosts Japan and Spain meet Argentina in top-end clashes. Preliminary league matches will also be played in goalball and sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair tennis.

But when it comes to medals, these are the events you should look forward to on Monday:

ARCHERY

Timing: 9:00 - 13:36 JST and 17:30 - 20:40 JST

Gold medals will be decided in Men’s Individual W1 section and Women’s Individual Compound Open on Monday.

There are several contenders for the title in Men’s W1 but keep an eye on Bahattin Hekimoglu of Turkey, 2019 World Champion. He had a lot of expectations placed on him coming to the 2019 World Championships as a European champion and top seed. He rose to the challenge in grand fashion, winning gold by beating China’s Li Ji 136-134 in a dramatic final, as well as helping Turkey to defend their W1 men’s team title. Though he has been upstaged by compatriot Nihat Turkmenoglu, who shot 661 in the ranking round as compared to Hekimoglu’s 643.

WATCH OUT FOR

David Drahoninsky (CZE): Drahoninsky is a role model of consistency in Para archery. His long list of accolades goes back to his gold in the men’s individual compound W1 at Beijing 2008. He followed that up with two silvers in the same event at London 2012 and Rio 2016. After almost two decades in the sport, the world No. 2 is still in top competitive form, most recently winning the bronze medal at the 2019 Worlds.

In the Women’s Individual Compound Open, keep an eye on  Great Britain’s Jessica Stretton, gold winner in the W1 category at Rio, who is competing in the Open section at Tokyo. She led the ranking round with a Paralympic record 694 in the 72 arrow round. Stretton is likely to face a tough challenge from RPC’s Stepanida Artakhanova who shot 693 in the ranking round.

ATHLETICS

Timing: 9:30 - 12:51 JST and 19:00 - 21:57 JST

Day 4 of athletics competitions at Tokyo 2020 has 15 medal events on the schedule at the National Olympic Stadium’

The first medal round in the morning session will be the men’s long jump T12 with  Uzbekistan’s Doniyor Saliev, winner of back-to-back world champion from London 2017 and Dubai 2019, looking for his first Paralympic gold.

Azerbaijan will have high hopes in this event with Rio 2016 silver medallist Kamil Aliyev and Said Najafzade who won the European title in June in Poland.

The men’s discus throw F56 also has a clear favourite in Brazil’s Claudiney Batista,  the defending champion and world record holder. He is also the current world champion from Dubai 2019.

Iran’s Ali Mohammadyari finished second to Batista in Dubai and will be aiming for gold alongside Cuba’s 46-year-old Leonardo Diaz, who has already won two Paralympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012.

The first track final of the day will be the women’s 1500m T11 which will have Dubai 2019 world champion Monica Rodriguez from Mexico battling for her first Paralympic medal against the likes of Kenya’s Nancy Koech and Poland’s Joanna Mazur.

Koech is the Rio 2016  silver medallist and finished behind Rodriguez in Dubai taking bronze. Mazur won the world title in London 2017 and two months ago bagged another gold in the European Championships in her home country.

The men’s shot put F41 is set to be a very close competition with four names standing out. Germany’s Niko Kappel is the defending Paralympic champion and gold medallist at the London 2017 Worlds.

He lost his world title at Dubai 2019 settling for silver behind world record holder Bobirjon Omonov from Uzbekistan.

Poland’s Bartosz Tyszkowski took silver five years ago in Rio but beat Kappel in June to take gold in the European Championships.

The Men’s 100m T33 and 100m T34 will follow next.  Kuwait’s Ahmad Almutairi is the name to beat in the T33 class as the defending Paralympic champion, the world record holder, and a three-time world champion.

The men’s 100m T34 has also been dominated by a single athlete, in this case, Tunisia’s Walid Ktila. Since London 2012 he has won every final whether it is in the Paralympic Games or the World Championships.

Australia’s Rheed McCracken has finished second to Ktila in all but one of those events.

Monday’s morning session also has the women’s shot put F54 with an interesting battle between the Paralympic champion from London 2012 and Rio 2016 Liwan Yang from China and Francisca Mardones from Chile. The former wheelchair tennis player Mardones is the world record holder and Dubai 2019 world champion heading to her first Games in Para athletics.

The men’s javelin F46 will be the last final in the morning session and one that India has high expectations for.

Leading the list will be defending champion and world record holder Devendra Jhajharia, who won his first Paralympic gold way back in 2004, and also with the London 2017 and Dubai 2019 world champion Sundar Singh Gurjar.

Ajeet Singh completes the trio of Indian athletes in the event. Do not be surprised if you see a clean podium sweep.

Another javelin event opens the afternoon session and India is again the favourite to top the podium. Sandeep Chaudhary is the current world champion in the men’s javelin F64 while Sumit  Antil is the world record holder. Sandeep beat Sumit for gold at Dubai 2019 in a one-two Indian podium.

The first track final on Monday afternoon will be the men’s T35. Ukraine’s Ihor Tsvietov was the clear favourite for gold until the European Championships which took place in Bydgoszcz, Poland in June.

The defending Paralympic champion and two-time world champion, he finished in third place in the Euros where two RPC athletes tied for the gold medal with a world-record performance, Dmitrii Safronov, and Artem Kalashian.

Tsvietov beat both at Dubai 2019, with Kalashian taking silver and Safronov bronze.

The women’s discus throw F53 is likely to see Brazil or Ukraine on the top of the podium. Brazilian thrower Elizabeth Gomes finished ahead of world record holder Iana Lebiedieva for gold at the Dubai 2019 World Championships. But Lebiedieva is coming to Tokyo in great form following her successful defence of the European Championships gold at Bydgoszcz 2021.

The men’s long jump T36 is comparatively, more open and unpredictable. RPC’s Evgenii Torsunov is the world record holder and current world champion from Dubai 2019.

Ukraine’s Roman Pavlyk has a Paralympic gold from London 2012 and a silver from Rio 2016 to his name while Brazil’s Rodrigo Parreira finished with a silver medal in all major championships since Rio 2016.

The last three competitions Sunday are all-male events. First, the men’s shot put F11 in which Iran’s Mahdi Olad will line up as the current world champion from Dubai 2019.

Croatia’s Miljenko Vucic finished with silver in Dubai and has just taken gold in the European Championships in Poland in June.

The men’s 100m finals will have German sprinters among the favourites.

Germany’s Leon Schaefer and Brazil’s Vinicius Rodrigues will be aiming to beat world champion Daniel Wagner in the 100m T63 final.

The blade runners’ battle will continue with the men’s 100m T64 final. London 2012 and Rio 2016 Paralympic champion Jonnie Peacock from Great Britain has not competed in a major championship since his gold at the London 2017 World Championships.

The current man to beat in the race is Germany’s Johannes Floors, the Dubai 2019 world champion, and world record holder.

Dutch teenage talent Olivier Hendriks is the European champion from Bydgoszcz 2021 and will be targeting his first final in his Paralympic debut.

EQUESTRIAN

Timing: 16:00 - 21:01 JST

It will be a busy day at the Equestrian Park with five gold medals on offer -- all in Dressage Individual Freestyle from Grade 1 to V.

Besides regulars like Roxannne Trunnell of USA and Sanne Voets of the Netherlands keep an eye on Georgia Wilson of Great Britain in Grade II.  Wilson burst onto the scene at the 2019 European Championships,  picking up two silvers and a gold in freestyle competitions in what was her first major championships. Wilson is a fresh face to grace the British squad that has a strong history of success in the sport.

Tobias Thorning Joergensen of Denmark is the upcoming star in Grade III and will be the top contender in her class. Joergensen was the breakthrough star of the 2019 European Championships, picking up two gold medals, better than his silver at the 2017 competition. The young rider is making his Games debut in Tokyo but will enter the Paralympics having won his grade at the 2021 Waregem international in Belgium.

POWERLIFTING

Timing: 11:00 - 18:30 JST

Four gold medals, the final four competitions will be decided on Monday, bringing down curtains on Tokyo 2020 Para Powerlifting programme.

The men’s up to 107kg event will open the final day’s action with Mongolia’s Para powerlifting star Enkhbayar Sodnompiljee starting as the title favourite.

Sodnompiljee is a Nur-Sultan 2019 World Championships gold medallist and Rio 2016 Paralympic bronze medallist. He would be keen to repeat his Nur-Sultan 2019 gold medal show in Tokyo.

Sodnompiljee is expected to face a strong challenge from Mexican Jose De Jesus Castillo, who is a world champion at the home Mexico City 2017 Worlds. He is also a gold medallist at the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games.

The women’s up to 86kg final is expected to witness some record-breaking performances.

Nigeria’s Folashade Oluwafemiayo would be ready for an encore after smashing the world record at the Manchester World Para Powerlifting World Cup in March. Folashade is a Nur-Sultan 2019 and Mexico City 2017 World Championships gold medallist.

Her main rival would be China’s Zheng Feifei, a two-time silver medallist at the World Championships and gold medallist at the Asian Para Games in 2018.

Among others to watch out for in the women’s up to 86kg event are Egypt’s Amany Ali, Jordan’s Tharwat Alhajjaj, both Rio 2016 medallists; and Lee Young-sun of South Korea, who is the Indonesia 2018 Asian Para Games, silver medallist.

The women’s over 86kg final too has an exciting contest on the cards. A showdown is expected between Nigeria’s Loveline Obiji and Egypt’s Randa Mahmoud, in a repeat of the London 2012 Paralympics where the former took the gold medal. Obiji is also a two-time World Championships silver medallist, while Mahmoud is the gold medallist at the Rio 2016 Games and the Mexico City 2017 Worlds.

China’s Deng Xuemei, the Nur-Sultan 2019 Worlds gold medallist, should also be keen to step up their game as do regional champions, Perla Barcenas, from Mexico and South Korea’s Lee Hyung Jun.

Barcenas is the current Lima 2019 Parapan American Games champion while Hyung Jun is the Asian Para Games 2018 gold medallist.

The last event of the Para powerlifting competition programme in Tokyo is the men’s over 107kg, which is going to miss their favourite star and sport's legend, Siamand Rahman.

The Iranian passed away with a cardiac arrest in March 2020. Rahman is still the world record holder in the men’s over 107kg with a lift of 310kg that gave him Paralympic gold at Rio 2016.

In Rahman’s absence, Iran will bank on Pourmirzaei Mansour, who is a three-time Worlds silver medallist, for the top honours.

The task will not be easy as Egypt’s Amr Mosaad and Jordan’s Jamil Elshebli, the Rio 2016 silver and bronze medallist respectively, will look to produce powerful performances.

London 2012 medallists Faris Al Ageeli from Iraq and Chun Keun-bae of South Korea will also be keen to produce medal-winning efforts.

SHOOTING

Timing: 8:30 - 16:15 JST

With 13 finals to be contested over seven days, the Asaka Shooting Range will be quite busy with practice rounds, qualification, and finals.

The opening day will have three finals and the first gold will be decided in the R2 - women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 final.

China, who led the medals tally with five gold among their eight medals, would be eager to repeat the Rio 2016 show while others like Ukraine, Slovakia, Iran, South Korea, and India would be keen to put up a strong presence.

The opening event will have current and former world champions including Slovakia’s Veronika Vadovicova and Iryna Shchetnik of Ukraine as the top names expected to be fighting for the top honours.   

The veteran Vadovicova is the Sydney 2019 world champion; Cheongju 2018 silver medallist and the current Paralympic record holder at Rio 2016.

Shchetnik was silver at Sydney 2019 and bronze at the Cheongju 2018 Worlds. She is also the current world record holder with 249.6 set in Belgrade 2018. The 21-year-old played a key role in Ukraine’s historic title in the R10 - mixed team 10m air rifle standing SH1 at the last World Championships in Sydney.

Also watch out for China’s Bai Xiaohong, Cheongju 2018 Worlds gold, and Iran’s Asian Para Games gold medallist Roghayeh Shojaei.

The R1 - men's 10m air rifle standing SH1 is expected to be a thriller with several contenders.

Slovakia’s Radoslav Malenovsky will be the man to beat in R1. He is the Cheongju 2018 World Shooting Para Sport Championships gold medallist and current world record holder.  A repeat of the Cheongju 2018 final is expected with the presence of South Korea’s Park Jinho and Andrii Doroshenko from Ukraine. Jinho took silver in Cheongju, while Doroshenko repeated his bronze from the Suhl 2014 Worlds.

Indonesia 2018 Asian Para Games gold medallist Wiraphon Mansing and China’s Fugang Tian, the Sydney 2019 Worlds bronze medallist, would also be keen to make a mark in Tokyo.

The R4 - mixed 10m air rifle standing SH2 will be the last event of the day with South Korean current world record holder Lee Jiseok among the favourites.

Jiseok will hope to recreate the magic of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games where he clinched two gold medals (R4 and R5). He is also Cheongju 2018 Worlds, Sydney 2019 Worlds, and Asian Para Games 2018 gold medallist.

Among other top names in the category who are expected to challenge are Sydney 2019 Worlds silver medallist Andrea Liverani from Italy and Slovenia’s Sydney 2019 Worlds bronze medallist Tirsek Francek Gorazd.

New Zealand’s Michael Johnson, the Athens 2004 Paralympic gold medallist, would be eager to make his fifth Paralympic appearance a memorable one. A silver medallist at the Cheongju 2018 World Championships, Johnson is the only member of New Zealand’s shooting squad in Tokyo.

SWIMMING

Timing: 9:00 - 10:57 and 17:00 - 20:04 JST

Day six action at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre will see 15 medal events taking place on Monday.

The packed session will kick off with the men’s 100m backstroke S7. Ukraine’s Yevhenii Bohodaiko will be defending his Paralympic title from Rio 2016. He also has a silver from London 2012.

Bohodaiko will be battling it out with Argentina’s Pipo Carlomagno, Israeli Mark Malyar.

The women’s 100m backstroke S7 will see three USA swimmers as medal contenders. Mallory Weggemann, Julia Gaffney, and McKenzie Coan are occupying second to fourth place in the rankings and have all set their best times at the US National Trials in Minneapolis in June. Gaffney is also the world record holder in the event.

The men’s 100m backstroke S9 will have Bogdan Mozgovoi, Simone Barlaam, and Ugo Didier in action. RPC’s Mozgovoi is the world record holder and the fastest man in the event in 2021 so far. Italy’s Simone Barlaam is the second-fastest in the rankings this year.

The Women’s 100m backstroke S9 is likely to be one of the highlights of day six. Australia’s two-time Paralympic champion Ellie Cole leads the way. She is the fourth-fastest in the event this year. The 2021 ranking leader in the USA’s Hannah Aspden, the bronze medallist from the Rio 2016 Paralympics. Also in the fray are Spain’s Nuria Marques and New Zealand’s world record holder Sophie Pascoe.

The men’s 200m freestyle S4 has Israel’s Ami Omer Dadaon as a clear favourite. He is the world record holder, took gold in the European Championships in May, and is the fastest in the event in 2021. Japan’s Takayuki Suzuki is the second-fastest man this year. He has gone head-to-head against Dadaon at the Berlin World Series in June where he set his season-best time. RPC’s Roman Zhdanov will be another threat for Dadaon as the reigning world champion from London 2019.

In men’s 50m butterfly S6, Colombia’s Nelson Crispin leads the way with the fastest time in 2021. A world champion from Mexico City 2017, he took silver at London 2019 and is a two-time Parapan American Games champion. Spain’s David Sanchez is the second-fastest man this year from the World Series in Berlin in June.

Women’s 50m butterfly S6 is Great Britain’s Eleanor Robinson territory. She is the reigning champion from Rio 2016, as well as the two-time European champion. The 19-year-old Robinson is also the fastest woman in the event in 2021. He will face tough competition from Ireland’s Nicole Turner and USA’s Elizabeth Marks'

Brazil’s Paralympic legend Daniel Dias has dominated the men’s 50m backstroke S5 for more than a decade as the three-time Paralympic champion, four-time world champion, and four-time Parapan American Games champion. He has already won three bronze medals in Tokyo in the final Paralympics before he retires. Dias is the fifth-fastest Para swimmer this year and will have to go up against Chinese Tao Zheng, Weiyl Yuan, and Jingsong Ruan. Tao is the fastest man in 2021.

Spain’s Teresa Perales is the clear favourite in women's 50m backstroke S5. She is the reigning Paralympic and world champion in this event. Turkey’s Sumeyye Boyaci is the second-fastest woman in 2021. Dong Lu from China is the fastest in this event this year. She set her season-best time at the Berlin World Series in June.

In the men’s 200m individual medley SM11, Dutch swimmer Rogier Dorsman will lead the way as the world record holder and reigning world champion from London 2019. Dorsman is also the fastest man in the event in 2021 followed by Japan’s Keiichi Kimura who set his season-best in Fuji in March.

The Netherlands has another favourite for gold in the women’s 200m individual medley SM11. It is the defending Paralympic champion Liesette Bruinsma who is also the world record holder and world champion from London 2019. She has the third-fastest time in this year's rankings. Jia Ma from China is the fastest swimmer in this category in 2021. Ma is followed by USA's Anastasia Pagonis, the 400m freestyle S11 gold medallist in her debut Paralympics at Tokyo.

In the women’s 100m freestyle S3, USA’s Leanne Smith is the favourite as the reigning world champion from London 2019. She is also the second-fastest Para swimmer in 2021 setting her time at the US Trials in Minneapolis. Italy’s Arjola Trimi is the fastest in the season with the time set at the Madeira 2020 European Championships.

The men’s 200m individual medley SM13 will be Ihar Boki, who is the world record holder and the fastest man in 2021. The 27-year-old is a two-time world and European champion in the event, and he will be defending his Rio 2016 Paralympic title.

Alex Portal from France will be Boki’s main threat. He is the second-fastest man in 2021 setting his season-best at the Sheffield World Series in April.

In the women’s 200m individual medley SM13, the reigning world and European champion Carlotta Gilli will be up against Colleen Young from the USA and Uzbekistan's Shokhsanamkhon Toshpulatova.

The last event in the programme on day six will be the men's 4x100m freestyle relay 34 pts. Italy holds the world record in this event and is also the reigning world and European champion.

Ukraine will be Italy’s biggest rival as the defending Paralympic champion and silver medallist from the last World and European Championships. Brazil took silver in the race at the home Games in Rio five years ago.

TABLE TENNIS

Timing: 11:00 - 14:00 and 16:00 - 20:00

The Individual competitions will be wrapped up with eight finals being completed on Monday.

China, which has won five gold medals on Sunday, figures in only two finals on Monday -- Shuai Zhao in Men’s Singles Class 8 and

Xiong Guiyan in women’s Singles Class 9.  Zhao is the two-time defending champion having won gold in Rio 2016 and London 2012. He will be up against Ukraine’s viktor Didukh, an experienced customer who had won gold in the team competition in Rio.

Xiong Guiyan was considered a prodigy when she burst onto the scene as a 13-year-old but had to retire in 1997 due to disability caused by Garre's sclerosing osteomyelitis. She returned to active sports less than a decade back when she was 37. Ranked No 1, the 45-year-old will be hoping to win her first Paralympic gold.

Kelly van Zon of the Netherlands is a two-time Paralympic and three-time world champion. The Dutch superstar will be taking on  Viktoriia Safonova of RPC in the women’s class 7 final hoping to win her third gold medal. Her debut Paralympics at Beijing 2008 resulted in a bronze medal in the singles, but she went to the top of the podium in London 2012 and defended her title at Rio 2016. Van Zon made headlines at Rio 2016 when she pulled off a miraculous diving shot around the net and left her opponent and eventual silver medallist, Turkey’s Kubra Korkut, stunned.

She has won singles gold at every single major international tournament since 2009, with the exception of the 2013 and 2017 European Championships, and completed a hat trick of World Championship titles in 2018. Van Zon started playing table tennis aged 9 and made her international debut in 2003.

Kelly van Zon, froom the Netherlands, will play in the women's class 7 final

The men’s singles Class 1 is an all-Korean affair with South Korea’s Rio 2016 silver medallist Joo Young Dae taking on compatriot Kim Hyeon Uk.

Players from Australia, Ukraine, and RPC figure in two finals each.