PARIS: Medals are up for grabs in track cycling, swimming, table tennis and taekwondo when the action begins on Thursday at the Paris Paralympics, which opened in a colourful and hope-filled ceremony ahead of 11 days of competition. The action also begins in sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, badminton, archery, goalball — a form of football for the visually impaired — and boccia, a version of bowls.

French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Games open on Wednesday during a ceremony in a balmy Place de la Concorde in central Paris — the first time a Paralympic opening ceremony has taken place away from the main stadium. The 4,400 competitors from 168 delegations paraded into the arena as the sun set with host nation France entering last to a standing ovation from 30,000 spectators.

The fine weather was in sharp contrast to the heavy rain which fell throughout the Olympics opening ceremony on July 26. International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons told the athletes and spectators he hoped for an “inclusion revolution”, before Macron officially declared the Games open.

The Paralympic flag was carried into the square by John McFall, a British Paralympic sprinter who has been selected by the European Space Agency to be the first ‘parastronaut’. French Olympian Florent Manaudou brought the flame into the arena to complete the four-day torch relay. Five French Paralympians, including 2020 gold medallists Alexis Hanquinquant and Nantenin Keita, lit the already-iconic cauldron in the Tuileries Gardens.

Of the 35 Olympic venues, 18 will be used for the Paralympics including the ornate Grand Palais and the Stade de France. Ticket sales had been sluggish for the Paralympics, which run until September 8, but they have accelerated since the Olympics and organisers say more than two million of the 2.5 million available have been sold, with several venues sold out.

Riding the wave of their Olympic team’s success, host nation France are aiming for a substantial improvement on the 11 golds in 2021, which left them 14th in the medals table. Paralympic powerhouses China dominated the last Paralympics in Tokyo with 96 golds and have again sent a strong delegation. Ukraine, traditionally one of the top medal-winning nations at the Paralympics, have sent 140 athletes to compete in 17 sports despite the challenges they face in preparing as the war against Russian forces rages at home.

A total of 96 athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete under a neutral banner but are banned from ceremonies because of the invasion of Ukraine. — AFP

American above-the-knee amputee sprinter/high jumper Ezra Frech, who is 19, has been tipped as a potential new star at these Games. Away from the track, more established names go in search of glory. Iranian sitting volleyball legend Morteza Mehrzad, who stands 8ft 1in (2.46m) tall, will attempt to take gold again. Beatrice ‘Bebe’ Vio, the Italian fencer who had all four limbs amputated when she contracted meningitis at the age of 11, is aiming for a third Paralympic Games gold. – AFP