Rio 2016 preview: Boccia

The Carioca Arena 2, located in the Barra Olympic Park, will stage the boccia Rio 2016 competition from 10-16 September. There will be seven mixed gender medal events contested in Rio, with four different sport classes:

• Individual – BC1

• Individual – BC2

• Individual – BC3

• Individual – BC4

• Team – BC1/BC2

• Pairs – BC3

• Pairs – BC4

Brazil, with four-time champion Dirceu Jose Pinto, and Canada, featuring London 2012’s bronze medallist Marco Dispaltro, could have a tight battle for the title in the pairs BC4.

In the individual BC1, Great Britain’s London 2012 silver medallist David Smith and the Netherlands’ Daniel Perez, who finished world No.1 in 2015, are the favourites.

Brazil’s champion Maciel Sousa Santos could lead his team to the podium in front of a cheering home crowd in the pairs BC3, and will also start as favourite in the individual BC2, especially after he reconfirmed his dominance with a win at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games.

Location: Carioca Arena 2 – Barra Olympic Park

Schedule: 10-16 September

Mark your calendars for…

Monday, 12 September

• 14:00-15:20 Pairs BC4 gold-medal match

• 19:20-21:00 Team BC1-2 gold-medal match

Friday, 16 September

• 12:30-14:00 Individual BC1 gold-medal match

• 19:15-20:35 Individual BC4 gold-medal match

Ones to watch:

• YUK WING LEUNG (HKG): He will compete in his fourth Paralympic Games, hoping to win two golds as he did at Athens 2004.

• DANIEL PEREZ (NED): The BC1 class world No.1 is hoping to claim his first major title in Rio.

• DAVID SMITH (GBR): After winning silver at London 2012, the 27-year-old seeks to take another leap forward at this year’s Games.

• DIRCEU JOSE PINTO (BRA): The Brazilian has dominated the BC4 class since Beijing 2008 and will be one to look out for.

• HAN SOO KIM (KOR): He won the individual world title in the BC3 class in 2014 and will be hoping to take gold in Rio.

• JACOB THOMAS (GBR): The 21-year-old, who is the world No.1 in the BC3 class, aims to reach the Paralympic podium.

• MACIEL SOUSA SANTOS (BRA): The defending Paralympic champion is hoping to repeat his London 2012 success.

• MARCO DISPALTRO (CAN): The London 2012 bronze medallist will be hoping for gold in the BC4 class.

How to follow:

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Sport fans from around the world can now buy their Paralympic tickets for Rio 2016 from authorised ticket resellers (ATRs).

The IPC’s Global ATR is Jet Set Sports, and Rio 2016 tickets and packages can be purchased on the CoSport website.

Residents of Brazil can buy 2016 Paralympics tickets directly from the Rio 2016 website.

Visa International is the exclusive payment card and the official payment system for the Paralympic Games.