ASTANA – Kazakhstan will send 150 athletes to the fifth Asian Para Games, which will take place on Oct. 18-24 in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture and the city of Nagoya, with the national team set to compete in 12 sports. The Kazakh team will compete in one team sport and 11 individual disciplines.
The largest groups will represent para judo with 26 athletes, para swimming with 21 and para cycling with 13, reported the Kazakh Ministry of Tourism and Sports. The delegation will also include athletes in sitting volleyball, para taekwondo, para table tennis, para shooting, para athletics, para archery, wheelchair tennis, para powerlifting and boccia.
The first competitions involving Kazakh athletes are scheduled to begin on Oct. 16 with the individual events in para table tennis. The official opening ceremony will take place on Oct. 18 at Mizuho Athletic Stadium in Nagoya. Around 4,000 athletes from 45 countries are expected to compete at the games, with 502 sets of medals to be awarded across 18 sports.
Kazakhstan to make wheelchair tennis debut The games will mark Kazakhstan’s first participation in wheelchair tennis at the Asian Para Games. The country will also debut in para athletics for athletes with intellectual impairments. Kazakh athletes will compete in the T20 athletics class and in Class 11 in para table tennis.
The team completed 23 training camps and took part in 22 international competitions as part of its preparations, winning 63 medals. “We are confident that our athletes will be able to demonstrate their preparation to the fullest at the upcoming competition and compete for strong results,” said Kairatbek Seitbekov, head of the Sports Department at the Center for Sports Training of Persons with Disabilities.
Kazakhstan has participated in the Asian Para Games since 2010 and has won 105 medals, including 20 gold, 35 silver and 50 bronze. At the inaugural games in 2010, Kazakhstan sent 63 athletes across six sports and won seven medals – two silver and five bronze. Four years later in Incheon, 78 Kazakh athletes competed in nine sports and won 24 medals, including seven gold, six silver and 11 bronze.
At the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Kazakhstan fielded 90 athletes in nine sports and collected 33 medals – five gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze.