MINSK, 24 August (BelTA) – The opening ceremony of the 16th Summer Paralympic Games will take place in Tokyo on 24 August, BelTA has learned.
Initially, the Belarusian delegation included 20 athletes. However, upon arrival in the Japanese capital one of the athletes, swimmer Maksim Vashkevich, as well as coach Stanislav Pozdeyev were placed in a 10-day quarantine as they tested positive for COVID-19. Nevertheless, Team Belarus will compete in athletics, swimming, judo, paracanoe and fencing. At the opening ceremony, the Belarusian flag will be carried by three-time Paralympic champion Liudmila Vauchok, while Hanna Kaniuk will be the captain of the Belarusian team.
At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, Belarusian athletes won 10 medals - 8 gold and 2 bronze medals, placing 19th place in the Paralympic Medal Count. This is the seventh summer Paralympics for Belarusian athletes; all in all, since Atlanta 1996, Belarusian Paralympians have won 98 medals (36, 32, 30).
About 4,000 competitors representing more than 160 countries will take part in Tokyo Paralympics. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will feature 539 events across 22 sports. The closing ceremony is scheduled for 5 September.
