Essay on Paralympics 2020

The Olympics and Paralympics are two of the biggest sporting events in the world and take place every four years in 2 segments - The Summer and the Winter Games. 

The Paralympics takes place immediately after the Olympics in the same host city. The Olympics are older and more popular than the Paralympics. 

The primary difference between the Olympics and Paralympics is that while most of the participants in the Olympics are able-bodies, The participants in the Paralympics are affected by some form of physical or intellectual disabilities. 

In fact, the Paralympics originally started as a way to help soldiers that had been wounded in World War II. The games started off as a way to provide rehabilitating sport for veterans, Which eventually turned into a recreational sport with the friendly competition before eventually developing into what the Paralympics are today. 

History:

The modern Olympic Games were conceptualized by Pierre de Coubertin taking inspiration from the ancient Olympic Games which were held in Greece. He also founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Olympic Games which was the 1896 Athens Olympics. 

Since then, the modern Summer Olympics have been held every four years except the 1912,1940 and 1944 editions which were cancelled due to World War I and II. At the opening ceremony of the 1948 London Olympic Games, Dr Ludwig Guttmann organized the first competition for wheelchair athletes which was named Stoke Mandeville Games. 

Later, the Stoke Mandeville Games metamorphosed into the Paralympic Games which first took place in Rome, Italy, in 1960. It featured 400 athletes from 23 countries. Since then, the Paralympic Summer Games have been held once every four years. 

WHO GOVERNS IT? 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is the governing body of the Summer Olympics which was founded by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894. In 1989, the International Paralympic Committee was formed as an NPO (Non-Profit Organization) to act as the Global Governing body of the Paralympic Games. 

TYPES OF SPORTS?

 

There are currently 33 sports in the Summer Olympics with 5 new sports having been added at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. (aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, baseball/softball, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, football, golf, gymnastics, handball, judo, karate, modern pentathlon, rowing, rugby sevens, sailing, shooting, skateboarding, sport climbing, table tennis, tennis, triathlon, surfing, volleyball, weightlifting, taekwondo, wrestling) 

There are 22 Summer Paralympic Sports with two new sports, badminton and taekwondo, making their debuts at the Tokyo Games. A few sports are the same, but the difference is how it is played. For example, instead of basketball, wheelchair basketball is played in Paralympics. 

The symbol of Paralympics:

The symbol of the Paralympics is composed of three 'agitos', coloured red, blue, and green, encircling a single point on a white field. This is a symbol of athletes coming together from all around the world. The agito is a symbol of movement which in Latin means 'I move' that is specially designed for the Paralympic movement. Moreover, the 3 colours are widely represented in national flags all around the World. 

INDIAN CONTINGENT:

The Indian contingent this year will include 54 athletes who will take part in nine sporting events: Badminton, canoeing, shooting, swimming, powerlifting, table tennis, archery, athletics, and taekwondo. 

In the 2016 Paralympics, India was represented by just 19 athletes. Despite being such a small team, the sportspersons returned home with two gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze medal in 2016. 

Also read: Essay on Tokyo Olympics 2021

Also read:  Essay on Tokyo Olympics 2020 Medal Winners from India

 THANK YOU SO MUCH