United In Motion – Paralympics Open With Major Aspirations
IPC JPC TOCOG XVI Summer Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020
The opening ceremony was held in the capital city of the land of the rising sun, becoming the only city to host the special Summer Paralympic Games for the second occasion. The Games were first held in 1960 & Japan hosted it for the 02nd time in 1964, being the first instance Tokyo was selected as host city. Emperor Naruhito officially opened the Games with Andrew Parsons – the Brazilian Sports Administrator / Journalist & President, International Paralympic Committee in attendance. Joining him was Japanese Politician / Olympion, Seiko Hashimoto head of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games & Paralympic Games Organising Committee. She had participated in 03 Winter Olympics & 03 Summer Olympics.
4537 Athletes from 163 National Paralympic Committees are in the fray, competing in 539 Events under 22 Sports. A 16 strong Sri Lanka contingent is also participating. Chef de Mission is Major General Retired, Rajitha Ampemohotti – a past president of the National Paralympic Committee of Sri Lanka. The Flag Bearer was Sergent Dinesh Priyantha Herath, a medal winner at the last instance in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 09 Athletes represent 04 Sports with a solitary female also included. 05 Coaches also accompany the team.
The Parade was led by the Paralympic Refugee Team comprising 06 Athletes. They represented the almost 82 million people of the world forced to flee war, also persecution & human rights abuses – 12 million who live with a disability according to the International Paralympic Committee. Afghanistan were absent due to difficulties in travelling while New Zealand opted to skip considering health risks. The spike of COVID 19 cases in Tokyo is a considerable pressure on all active stakeholders working with considerable commitment towards the success of the event.
Photos / Video courtesy Sajeewani Dissanayaka – Sammu City, Japan