Para sport gets boost in North Korea

“Through the seminar we had the opportunity to encourage and support the further development of the Paralympic Movement in North Korea."

Para sport in North Korea received a boost recently as 21 participants took part in training and education sessions for classification in swimming and table tennis from 13-16 May in Pyongyang.

Supported by the Agitos Foundation through a grant given to Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Paralympic Committee to improve Para sport in the country, it is hoped that it will help to grow the numbers of athletes.

At the London 2012 Paralympic Games, North Korea sent one athlete and have two slots for Rio 2016 this September.

Thirteen people completed the table tennis session in Pyongyang, led by classifier and International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) educator Dr. Sharad Pandit.

Over two days, participants were introduced to the classification system in table tennis where the sitting, standing and intellectual impairment classes were outlined. Once the theory was described, five athletes were classified by the trainees under the guidance of Dr. Pandit and can now progress to the next stage of classification.

Dr. Pandit said: “Every day in my life I am looking for new heroes whose achievements I would like to celebrate and tell others about. I found them in North Korea in the form of athletes and officials who continue to strive hard despite the seemingly insurmountable hardships they face.”

In the swimming workshops, IPC Swimming classifier and educator Spyros Stavrou led eight people through the classification system in swimming. They heard about the rules and regulations, the Classification Code and the Code of Ethics before being talked through the theory and process of athlete evaluation.

Stavrou said: "What pleased me the most was the candidates’ enthusiasm throughout the whole seminar and their eagerness for knowledge.

“Through the seminar we had the opportunity to encourage and support the further development of the Paralympic Movement in North Korea."

The Paralympic Committee received a grant through the Agitos Foundation’s Grant Support Programme, which helps Para sport development projects around the world.