Paris Paralympics 2024: Here's what to expect from the 11-day extravaganza?

Let the games begin againThe Paris Paralympics 2024 are set to open Wednesday as some 4400 athletes with disabilities permanent injuries or impairments prepare to compete for 549 medals across 22 sports over 11 days in ParisThe French capital which just hosted the Olympics again provides the backdrop for what promises to be another spectacle with many of the same venues hosting Paralympic competitionsHistoric square Place de la Concorde which hosted skateboarding breaking and 3x3 basketball during the Olympics will host the opening ceremonyEquestrian returns to Chacircteau de Versailles which will host para equestrian events The Grand Palais transitions from fencing to wheelchair fencing Archery venue Invalides will host para archeryAlso Read Jhajharia envisions 50medal haul for India at 2036 ParalympicsThe venue beside the Eiffel Tower which hosted beach volleyball during the Olympics will host blind soccer an adaption of the game for visually impaired players in teams of five with a ball containing rattlesldquoWeve got some monstrous iconic sites and were going to get an eyefulrdquo Frances para triathlon champion Alexis Hanquinquant said ldquoParis is the most beautiful city in the world I think were going to have some pretty exceptional Paralympic Gamesrdquo Of the 22 Paralympic sports only two do not have an Olympic equivalent mdash goalball and boccia In goalball teams of visually impaired or blind players take turns rolling a ball containing bells toward the opposing goal while the defending teams players act as goalkeepers In boccia players throw or roll leather balls as close as they can to a small ball called a jackCompared to the previous edition of the Paralympics in Tokyo 10 medal events have been added to give female athletes and those with highsupport needs more opportunitiesAlso ReadlsquoI come back with such a different outlook promisersquoThe Paralympic flame was lit Saturday in Stoke Mandeville a village northwest of London widely considered the birthplace of the Paralympic Games and was to make its way via a torch relay under the English Channel to cities all over France before lighting the cauldron during the opening ceremony on WednesdayAnticipation has been building with Parisians returning from their summer vacations ndash the city almost felt empty at the beginning of the month with many away at the coast For locals who missed the Olympic action the Paralympics are a second chance to catch some of the excitementThe athletes mdash Paralympians mdash will be the focus of attention starting Thursday in the first day of competition when there will be medals to be won in para taekwondo para table tennis para swimming and para cycling on the trackAs was the case for the Olympics there will medals up for grabs on each of the 11 days of competitionMany of the competing athletes have titles to defendPara shooter Avani Lekhara the first Indian woman to win a pair of medals at a single edition of the Paralympics returns to defend her 10meter air rifle gold in the SH1 category from TokyoThe SH1 category is for rifle shooters with lower limb impairments like amputations or paraplegia who can hold their gun without difficulty and shoot from a standing or sitting positionAmerican multisport specialist Oksana Masters won a handcycle road race and time trial at the Tokyo Paralympics and she will be looking to add to her career total of seven gold and 17 medals overall in both summer and winter eventsPara powerlifter Sherif Osman of Egypt is going for his fourth gold medal and Italian fencer Bebe Vio is vying for her third consecutive gold in wheelchair fencing After contracting meningitis as a child doctors amputated both her legs and her forearms to save her lifeBrazil is unbeaten in blind soccer going back to the first tournament in Athens in 2004 but France harbors hopes of an upset The hosts kick off against China and Brazil plays Turkey on Sept 1 a day before the teams meet for a potentially decisive match in Group AAnd there are other storylinesVisually impaired Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo will be the first transgender woman to compete at the Paralympics when she races in the heats for her classification in the womens 400 meters on Sept 2American swimmer Ali Truwit is competing a year after losing her lower leg in a shark attack while snorkelingTeenage swimmer David Kratochvil is carrying Czech hopes of a medal after losing his sight because of a serious illness about 10 years ago The 16yearold Kratochvil used to play ice hockey but switched to the pool where he set world records in the 50 and 200 meter backstroke last yearMany more wait to be told over the next two weeksWith AP inputs