Left: Players from the Japanese wheelchair rugby team celebrate their victory after the final in Paris on Monday.
Right: Daiki Kajiwara celebrates winning gold in the men’s WH2 wheelchair badminton final in Paris on Monday.
15:42 JST, September 3, 2024
PARIS — Japan’s wheelchair rugby team won gold Monday at the Paris Paralympic Games, beating the United States 48-41. The victory earned Japan its first-ever gold medal and third consecutive medal in the event, following bronze medal performances in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021.
In the final of the men’s WH2 wheelchair badminton class, 22-year-old Daiki Kajiwara defeated his opponent from Hong Kong in three sets to win his second consecutive gold medal at the Paralympic Games, following his victory at the previous Games in Tokyo.
Left: Keiko Onidani poses for a photo after winning bronze at the World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, May 2024.
Right: Naohide Yamaguchi poses for a photo with his bronze medal in the men’s 100m breaststroke in class S14 in Paris on Monday.
Keiko Onidani, 29, won silver in the women’s discus throw F53 class with a new Asian record of 15.78 meters.
In the men’s 100m breaststroke (S14) for swimmers with an intellectual disability, 23-year-old former champion Naohide Yamaguchi won the bronze.
