It will be four days and another year until the opening of the Beijing Paralympics in China next year.
The international tournament, which was scheduled as a test tournament this winter at the actual venue, has been canceled or postponed one after another due to the influence of the new coronavirus, and the players are having an unprecedented difficult preseason.
The Beijing Paralympics will begin on March 4th next year and will feature 78 events in six competitions: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, biathlon and ice hockey snowboarding wheelchair curling over a 10-day schedule.
This season, which is the pre-season, is an important time to participate in many international competitions, take a place, and determine the power relationship with rivals, but due to the influence of the new coronavirus, the world championship and the World Cup will be canceled. Due to a series of postponements, Japanese athletes have gained practical experience in limited competitions, including increasing training camps in Japan.
In addition, as the international tournament scheduled locally this season as a test tournament was canceled or postponed, there is a possibility that the players will enter the tournament without experiencing the actual venue, including three gold medals at the previous Pyeongchang tournament. For Japan, which has won 10 medals, it is an unprecedentedly difficult preseason.
Yoshihiro Nitta (40), who has won three gold medals in cross-country skiing and has announced that he will retire from active duty at the end of the Beijing tournament, said, "I really think that the training camp and tournament are not held as expected. It was a year that I was forced to do. I want to do my best for the next year with the goal of winning medals individually and as a group, so that when I reach the goal, I want to feel that I've done it. "