With just under two years to go before the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games, a delegation from the Asian Paralympic Committee (AsPC) travelled to Japan to take part in the second co-ordination committee meeting.
On the first day, the AsPC delegates which included President Majid Rashed, Chair of the Games and Sport Development Committee Dr. NasanbatOyunbat and CEO Tarek Souei toured the venues for the games, hotels that will be used as the athletes’ village, the airport and welcome centre.
On the second day a full day of meetings was held with several representatives from the organising committee AINAIGOC including Mr. Junichi Kawai (Vice President AINAGOC, Chairperson Japanese Paralympic Committee), the Japanese Paralympic Committee President Mr. Kazuyuki Mori (President JPC) and Mr. Yuji Kakizawa (Director of International Affairs from the Japan Sports Agency)as well as representatives from Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya City. In addition, the opening session was attended by the Governor of Aichi Prefecture His Excellency Hediaki Ohmura. Amongst the topics for discussion during the meeting were the sports, accommodation, protocol, security, media and marketing.
On the final day, more sports venues and hotels were visited.
These will be the fifth Asian Para Games, and will feature 18 sports, with an estimated 3600 – 4000 athletes and team officials attending.
Speaking at a press conference at the end of the visit, AsPC President Majid Rashed said; “These will be the third Asian Para Games under my presidency and their importance cannot be underestimated. They are the second largest para-sport event in the world.
“There will be about three times more Asian para-athletes here in Aichi-Nagoya than there were in Paris. That is three times more families who can be proud of their athlete, three times more local newspapers who can tell the athletes’ stories, three times more local governments that can be encouraged to do more for people with impairments.
“In Hangzhou, 33 NPCs returned home with medals, eleven more than won medals in Paris. This gives eleven more countries in Asia the opportunity to celebrate the success of their para-athletes and break down barriers.
“All of this demonstrates that these games are vital for the development of para-sport across our region.And this means they are vital to help us achieve our vision of making an inclusive Asia through para-sport.”
Continuing, he thanked the organising committee for their efforts so far and expressed his confidence that the games will be a success; “We know that the organising committee recognise their importance too and that the whole team here has been working very hard to ensure that the games preparations are on track.
“With the spotlight on Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya there is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the region and city at it’s very best.
We are pleased with the progress that has been made and believe that the games will be a success for the city, prefecture and country and that they have an impact right across our region.”
