Sports within the program of the Paralympic Games they are adaptations to Olympic sport with specifications on the degrees of disability of athletes. However, there are two disciplines which from their conception as competition were developed for people with different abilities and therefore do not have a counterpart to conventional sport.
La Boccia i the Golbol are the only disciplines to be contested at the Paralympic Games without having a modality in the Olympic Games.
What is Boccia?
Boccia is a game of strategy and precision which was originally created to be played by people with cerebral palsy. Currently, the sport includes athletes with disabilities that affect motor skills and was included in the Paralympic program in the edition of New York 1984.
How is it practiced?
The sport of Boccia it is practiced on a flat, smooth surface, In which players must throw or roll colored balls as close as possible to the target, which is a white ball or target also known as a ‘jack’. The player, pair or team that manages to bring the most balls closer to the jack will be the winner.
Individual or doubles matches consist of four partials, while team matches have six partials. After each run, the athlete, pair, or team with the ball closest to the jack receives a point, and an additional point for each ball that is closer to the jack than that of their opponents.
Each athlete (men and women compete together), pair or team “throw” 6 balls per partial to decide the winners and thus advance in rounds until reaching the final seven for the medals (four singles, two doubles and one team )
Asian countries have dominated the bowls for the last four years. the Thai Worawut Saengampa is one of the most prominent athletes, and participates in the BC2 category. Born with cerebral palsy, he started playing bowling at the age of 13 and took home two Gold Medals as a member of the BC1 / 2 team from Thailand in Liverpool after winning a Gold Medal and a of Silver in its first Paralympic Games, in Rio 2016.
Golbol
the Golbol is played exclusively by blind or visually impaired athletes. It was invented in 1946 to help rehabilitate veterans who had lost their sight during World War II.
Teams consist of six players, with three members playing at once. The object of the game is to throw a ball overtaking opponents and enter the opposing goal to score goals. Players lean on their hands and knees to defend their goal and score.
One peculiar thing during matches (which have a two-time duration of 12 minutes and in the event of a tie the golden goal is resorted to in a two-time two-minute overtime) is that spectators must remain silent during the match, So players can hear the ball to their teammates, but they can shout and celebrate when a goal is scored.
the Golbol made his 1976 Paralympic debut in Toronto. The women’s event was added at the 1984 Paralympic Games in New York. It is part of the program of the Parapanamericanos Games from Guadalajara 2011.
What to expect from Tokyo 2020?
the Lithuanian men’s team and the Turkish women’s team, winners of the Gold Medal in Rio 2016, they are among the most prominent selections today. However, some countries in Europe, Asia, North America and South America are cutting distances.
In the eleven competitions held so far, no country has won more than two gold medals, which shows that the competition in this sport is spread all over the world. The men’s selections of Finland and Denmark and the females of Canada and the United States they have climbed to the top of the podium on two occasions each.