Having won bronze medals in both Rio and Tokyo, the Japanese wheelchair rugby team will be hoping to make it to the gold medal match in Paris. They have a tough group stage to navigate first though, having been drawn with Rio and Tokyo silver medallists USA, and Canada, who have competed in the medal matches at all editions of the games, apart from Tokyo. Germany completes their group.
Captain Yukinobu Ike is determined to improve on their Tokyo performance saying in an interview with IPC, “Now, I believe we can win gold in Paris,” Ike said. “I want to become a better version of myself. I want to play in Paris in a way that will make many people excited and want to support us.”
Watch out for Kae Kurahashi, the only female player on the Japanese team that won bronze on home soil at Tokyo 2020 and followed that up with bronze at the 2022 Worlds. Daisuke Ikezaki is a trailblazer in wheelchair rugby, having made history with Japan in the sport. At Rio 2016 he led the team to their first-ever Paralympic medal with bronze and followed that up with a landmark world title in 2018.
The group stages run from 29th – 31st August and Japan will start their campaign with a match against Germany on 29th August.
