An international tournament for the para-sports ball game Boccia, which serves as the final qualifying round for the Paris Paralympic Games, was held in Portugal, and the pair of Masayuki Arita and Ayane Ichinohe took second place and were selected to represent the Paris Games.
Boccia is a parasport designed for people with severe motor impairments such as cerebral palsy, in which players compete by throwing red and blue balls at each other to see how close they can get to a white target.
The international competition, which serves as the final qualifying round for the Paris Paralympic Games, was held in Portugal from the 22nd to the 28th of this month, and the pair of athletes Arita and Ichinohe competed in the class with the most severe disabilities.
Japan won the qualifying league in which 10 countries competed, defeated Greece 8-0 in the semifinals, and lost to Great Britain 2-4 in the final, finishing as runners-up and earning a spot at the Paris Paralympic Games, which is given to the top three teams. Obtained.
In response to this, Arita and Ichinohe have been informally selected to represent the Paris Paralympic Games based on the selection rules, including winning the Japan Championships in January this year.
This is the first time for Arita and Ichinohe to participate in the Paralympics.
Who is Masayuki Arita?
Masayuki Arita is a 44-year-old from Osaka Prefecture.
Due to Spinal Muscular Atrophy, an incurable congenital disease that causes a gradual decline in muscle strength, he played an active role as an electric wheelchair soccer player for over 15 years, but at the age of 37, he decided to become a world-class player. ” and turned to boccia.
After he switched to competitive sports, his wife Chiho served as his assistant and aimed to participate in the Tokyo Paralympic Games, but they fell one step short of making it to the national team.
After that, the couple practiced together and won their first victory at the Japan Championships the year before, and last year they won a bronze medal in the individual competition at the Asian Paralympic Games held in China.
The Paralympics will be his first appearance.
Who is Ayane Ichinohe?
Ayane Ichinohe is an 18-year-old from Higashikurume City, Tokyo.
She has cerebral palsy, and became obsessed with competitions after joining a club when she was in her first year at a junior high school at a special needs school. She practiced intensely for up to eight hours a day with her father, Kenji, who served as her assistant. I improved my skills and ability.
Because she has difficulty blinking, when she plays she wears glasses with a black cover over her left eye and uses only her right eye to aim and shoot the ball.
She won her first championship last year at the Japan Championships, which she competed in for the first time, and she has also shown her ability in international competitions, winning a silver medal at the Asia-Oceania Championships that year.
Her Paralympics will be her first time competing.