Paris 2024: Japan targets most successful Paralympic campaign

Three years after hosting the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Japan is looking to pull off their most successful campaign ever at Paris 2024.  

More than 170 athletes will compete in 21 sports, with a target of winning more than 52 medals, thereby exceeding the number of medals Japan brought home from the Athens 2004 Paralympics.  

Japan’s Paralympians are aiming to ride the momentum in Paris after the country finished third on the overall medals table at the Olympic Games last month, behind the USA and China. 

“We have our biggest-ever Japanese Paralympic delegation competing at a Games outside of Japan,” said Chef de Mission Aki Taguchi.  

“One third of our athletes are Paralympic debutants. Many were motivated to compete at the Paralympics after watching Tokyo 2020, thinking this is a place they want to be.” 

From a home Games to the Paris Games 

Japan has fielded a team at every summer Games since hosting them at Tokyo 1964. Fifty-seven years later, the country bagged 51 medals, including 13 golds, at the second Paralympics held in its capital. 

“At the Tokyo 2020 Games, we received host country slots, so Japanese athletes competed in every sport. But this time, athletes earned slots by collecting qualification points or achieving great results at qualification tournaments. 

“I believe that the experience they had at Tokyo 2020 motivated them to become better.” 

The blind football team will return to the Games after finishing fifth in the eight-team tournament on their Paralympic debut three years ago.  

The men’s goalball team will also make their second appearance. And after booking their ticket by winning the 2023 IBSA World Games, the team is now seeking their major Paralympic breakthrough – a gold medal. 

Young stars and veteran heroes 

Japanese athletes are ready to take the spotlight at Paris 2024 and there are plenty of new stars to look forward to.  

Teenager Tokito Oda will take to the iconic clay courts of Roland Garros to continue the legendary Shingo Kunieda’s wheelchair tennis legacy. Kunieda hung up his racquet in 2023, with three Paralympic golds to his name.  

Oda is among the favourites to follow him to the top of the podium. He is already a four-time Grand Slam champion, having captured his most recent title at Roland Garros this year. 

“Watching different Olympic sports, I was inspired at how much (dreams are created) at the Games. I want to compete in a way so that I can create a bigger excitement than the Olympics and I want to show how much I’ve grown,” Oda said at a recent press conference in Japan. 

Japan picked up nine medals in Para badminton at Tokyo 2020, where the sport made its Paralympic debut. Daiki Kajiwara, who topped the podium in the men’s singles WH2 tournament, is among the medal favourites in Paris. 

The 22-year-old athlete has not lost a match in the men’s singles since Tokyo 2020, and he is confident that he can defend his title. 

Another potential gold could be secured by the wheelchair rugby team. Three years since their heart-breaking semi-final defeat on home soil, the team are out to avenge their “disappointing” bronze. 

“Now, I believe we can win gold in Paris,” said team captain Yukinobu Ike, who will compete at his third Paralympics. 

“I want to become a better version of myself. I want to play in Paris in a way that will make many people excited and want to support us.” 

Overcoming Paralympic ‘demons’ 

Taguchi, who competed in shooting Para sport at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012, understands what it is like to compete on the biggest stage.  

“In Japan, we say that there are ‘demons’ at the Olympics and Paralympics,” she said. “In shooting, athletes shoot toward the same target from the same distance as any other competition. But still, I was 100 times more nervous compared to other events.” 

And she hopes all athletes can overcome their inner demons when the Games open on 28 August.  

“Every athlete, whether they are Paralympic debutants or veteran athletes, want to achieve their best result and to win a medal. Nobody is here to lose.”  

“Paris 2024 will have a great combination of beautiful city and sport, and I’m excited to see what the athletes will achieve there.”