Judo
Judo will return ‘home’ to the country of its origin and the host nation will be hoping to add to their medal haul which has seen them the most successful country at the Paralympic Games with 12 golds and 30 medals overall.
However, it was Uzbekistan who topped the medal table in Rio with three golds from a total of 10 medals, followed by China with 2 golds. At the Indonesia 2018 Asian Para Games, the stars were Uzbekistan again. They took a clean sweep of the medals in the men’s events, but a dominant display by the South Korean women ensured that they didn’t have it all their own way.
In fact, it was the performance of the Korean women at the last IBSA World Championships in 2018 who ensured that their country topped the medal table, delivering two of the three gold medals. With Asian countries taking five of the top 10 places at these championships, it bodes well for an Asian medal rush at the Nippon Budokan when competition gets underway on Friday 27th August.
Para triathlon
Para triathlon is making its second appearance at a Paralympic Games with Asian nations yet to win any medals.
In Tokyo only two Asian nations will be represented – China and Japan. The Chinese athlete Jiachao Wang will compete in the PTS4 men’s event along with Hideki Uda from Japan.
Uda is one of six Japanese athletes who will compete at the Odaiba Marine Park on 28th and 29th August. Included in that list is Wakako Tsuchida, a seven-time Paralympian who has competed and won Gold at both summer and winter Games. The 46-year-old received a bi-partite slot and will compete in the PTWC Women’s event.
