TOKYO 2020 PARALYMPIC GAMES TAKE CENTER STAGE TODAY.

As the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games take center stage today Tuesday, 24 August 2021, sport-loving Zambian’s and the nation at large have no option but to rally behind Zambia’s sole representative at the Tokyo 2020 Games, Monica Munga.

Monica aged 22, a Chipata native will be the only Zambian Paralympian from this game's edition and will be competing in the Women’s 400m Track T13 classification.

She will have the honours of carrying the Zambian Flag during the official opening of the Tokyo 2020 Games as flag bearer and joins the elite group consisting of Swimmer Tilka Paljk and Boxer Everisto Mulenga who were Flag bearers for the Olympic Games a few weeks ago.

Monica is ambitious to win the country’s first medal at the Paralympic Games in Japan having spent some time in the Asian nation between 2018 and 2019 when she had an opportunity to train at the Nippon Sport Science University in Japan.

She will be among the Paralympians set to change the world’s view on disability at Tokyo 2020 Games.

Monica became the first Zambian Para-athlete to qualify for the Paralympic Games after minting a gold medal at the Fazza International World Para Athletics Championship in Dubai.

The World Para Championships were held from February 24 – 27 2019.

Monica Munga in training a few days before departure for Tokyo - Picture by NOCZ Media

Zambia will be making its fifth appearance since 1996 in the Paralympic Games by participating in the Tokyo 2020 games

Meanwhile, The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has confirmed that it will offer free-to-air coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games to 49 territories in sub-Saharan Africa as part of the AT2030 program’s Para Sport Against Stigma project, funded by British aid. This is an attempt to promote Para sport and ensure human rights for people with disabilities around the world. Globally, there are 1.2 billion people with disabilities who often fail to reach their full potential. Central to this is the stigma of disabilities, which limits full participation in society from employment and education to sports.

Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC TV) will broadcast the games for the Zambian Audience in English while TV5 Afrique in French.

The official opening ceremony is scheduled for 13:00hrs Zambian Time.

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will take place between 24 August and 5 September and will feature 539 medal events across 22 sports.