In this file photo from Aug. 17, 2021, South Korean para swimmers train for the Tokyo Paralympics at the Korea Paralympic Committee Icheon National Training Center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — With community sports centers for the disabled opening across the nation and a high-quality national training center in place for elite disabled athletes, South Korea is providing “a blueprint” for others when it comes to developing Paralympic sports, the global leader of the Paralympics said Thursday.
In a written interview with Yonhap News Agency, Andrew Parsons, head of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), said he has been “greatly impressed” with the work by the Korea Paralympic Committee (KPC).
He was referring to the nationwide Bandabi Sports Centers, bearing the name of the mascot for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics. The first one opened in August 2022, part of what the KPC regards as a lasting legacy of the 2018 Paralympics, with several more having followed. The goal is to have 150 by 2027.
This June 26, 2023, file photo provided by the Korea Paralympic Committee (KPC) shows Andrew Parsons, head of the International Paralympic Committee, at the KPC’s Icheon Training Center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Another bit of business praised by Parsons is the opening of the national Paralympics training center in Icheon, some 55 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in 2009. It expanded further in 2013 and serves as the central training ground for South Korean athletes competing at Paralympic Games and Asian Para Games, among other events.
“With the Bandabi Sport Centers and state-of-the-art training center in Icheon, Korea boasts some of the best Paralympic sport facilities in the world,” Parsons said. “I hope this great work continues and results in not just more people doing Paralympic sport in the country, but Korea performing even better in the medals table at the Paralympic Games. With my good friend Jin-owan Jung, presiding over the KPC, I am certain this will happen. The work he and his team have undertaken to develop Paralympic sport can be a blueprint for other nations.”
It was in 1988 in Seoul that the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games were held in the same city for the first time in 24 years. The IPC has often hailed the 1988 edition as the start of the modern Paralympics. And 30 years later, the country held the Winter Paralympics for the first time.
“I think the legacies of both the Seoul 1988 and PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Games are underrated globally,” Parsons said. “Each time I visit Seoul, it is amazing to see the Olympic Park so well used by the Korean public. With regards to the nationwide Bandabi Sport Centers, I am greatly impressed with the work the KPC is undertaking to develop Paralympic sport, not just in Korea but around the world.”
In this file photo from Aug. 17, 2021, Lee Sam-seop, South Korean wheelchair badminton player, trains for the Tokyo Paralympics at the Korea Paralympic Committee Icheon National Training Center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
And for the first time since the PyeongChang Paralympics six years ago, the IPC is looking forward to welcoming spectators to a Paralympic Games in Paris this summer. Parsons estimated that 2.8 million people will attend the competition in the French capital.
And the 2024 Summer Paralympics should also have a record number of countries participating, exceeding the 164 that competed at London 2012, and Parsons said the list for this year will likely include North Korea.
“From an IPC point of view, the door is open to North Korea competing at Paris 2024, like it is for any national Paralympic committee (NPC) in good standing.”
As for North Korea not entering qualifying stages for Paralympic sports, Parsons said there will still be opportunities for North Korean athletes to qualify until the summer.
The North may also take advantage of the IPC’s bipartite system, whereby the IPC extends invitations to regularly practicing athletes who have not otherwise earned a spot in the Paralympics.
“With the bipartite system, an NPC must request slots from the respective international federation and IPC. It is not a case of the IPC or international federation sending out slots to athletes if they have not been requested by the NPC,” Parsons explained. “For an athlete to be considered for a bipartite slot, they need to be eligible. This means they must be licensed and classified, amongst other things.”
This Dec. 9, 2023, file photo provided by Eumseong County shows the Bandabi Sports Center for disabled athletes in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
The Paris Paralympics will also take place against the backdrop of global political turmoil, highlighted by the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and Russia-Ukraine war. Parsons said the Paralympic Games will “showcase the best of humanity to the world” and highlight to the rest of the world “the ability of sport to unite people of all nations together in peaceful competition where playing by the rules is celebrated.”
“But I think the message of the Paralympic Games goes way beyond peace to an extremely strong message of inclusion,” he added. “The Paralympic Games are the only event that puts persons with disabilities front and center on the world stage. Diversity in our world is a strength, differences should be celebrated, and the Paralympics is the best opportunity to highlight this.”
One thorny issue for Paris 2024 is the conditional participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus, which helped Moscow invade Ukraine. Ukrainian athletes are vehemently against the idea of having athletes from the two countries compete as “neutrals,” without their national flags.
Parsons said the decision to open the Paralympics door to Russian and Belarusian athletes without military ties was reached in votes by IPC members. “Differing but very respectful” voices were heard at its 2023 general assembly, Parsons added.
“We fully understand and appreciate that decisions of this magnitude are not universally popular and there will always be some people disappointed with the outcome,” he said. “From an IPC point of view, however, it was absolutely imperative to hear from our 200-plus members on the subject and for them to make the final decisions.”
(Yonhap)
