PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS

Sherzod Namozov UZB (white) battles with Makoto Hirose JPN in Rio 2016

France’s Sandrine Martinet puts injury woes firmly behind her with judo gold on opening day of competition at Rio Paralympics.

A visually impaired athlete runs with her guide on the track of a stadium.

It’s a busy start at the Olympic Stadium with some of the fastest Paralympians on the planet making their first appearances on the track.

A look inside a venue where table tennis will be contested. On the court are four tennis tables set up.

Egyptian Hamadtou set for his Paralympic debut after starring in the Nothing is Impossible YouTube video.

Nigeria's Yakubu Adesokan winning gold at London 2012

There are first medals of the Paralympic Games for Vietnam and Hungary as athletes raise the bar at the start of competition at Riocentro.

A picture of a blind person shooting the ball in a football match

Brazil have won every gold medal since the introduction of blind football to the Paralympic Games. Can they top the podium in Rio?

Yunidis Castillo of Cuba celebrates as she wins gold in the Women's 100m T46 Final at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Cuba’s five-time Paralympic champion is aiming for four more golds at her third Paralympics Games.

(GOLD) NORBEKOV Khusniddin Uzbekistan

On the track, athletes lay down their markers in qualification for eagerly-awaited Fast Friday finals at the Olympic Stadium

Veronika Vadovicova concentrates on her next shot.

Shooting medals are the first up for grabs at the Paralympics Games, but who will be on target and claim gold?

Swimmer in the water breathing between two freestyle strokes

New bests for China, the Netherlands, Uzbekistan, and Great Britain in the heats open the first day of competition at the Aquatics Stadium.

Gold medalist Daniel Dias of Brazil celebrates on the podium at the medal ceremony for the Men's 200m Freestyle - S5 Final on day 1 of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

A bronze medal for Italo Pereiro also delights the home crowds at the Aquatics Stadium, alongside eight more world records.