parataekwondo and parabadminton hope to arouse “vocations” in Tokyo

There are eight of them and they are on a mission in Tokyo. For the first time, their disciplines, taekwondo and badminton, are making their entry into the Paralympic Games. And, beyond the quest for medals, it is with the objective of taking full advantage of this spotlight to make their practices better known that the two taekwondoists and the six French badists have landed in Japan.

“The Games can generate excitement or, [du moins], relieve people with disabilities and give them ambitions ”, hopes the national technical director (DTN) of the French Badminton Federation (FFBAD), Jérôme Careil. “The first generation of parataekwondo at the Games must give birth to vocations”, confirms national taekwondo coach Oury Sztantman.

If since the officialization in 2015 of their entry into the Olympic program the two disciplines have been structured on the international scene, the French federations are struggling to find their audience on the national territory.

Five medals hoped for at the Games

In parabadminton, the goal in Tokyo (where the events started on Wednesday 1 September, the finals being scheduled for Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 September) has been set at three medals, “Including one in gold”, explains Jérôme Careil. High ambitions, up to the ranking of the players. “Lucas [Mazur] has the potential to win two, singles and doubles ”, continues the DTN. World number one in SL4 (handicap of a lower limb), the Salbrisien is, at 23, double world champion in singles (2017 and 2019) and triple European champion (2014, 2016 and 2018).

Be careful not to see yourself too good-looking, warns the president of the FFBAD, Yohan Penel: “The eighteen months of the pandemic have reshuffled the cards, especially among the Paralympics, who have only had two competitions. “ The leader fears the ability of Japanese badists to transcend at home, in a sport very popular in Japan.

For the parataekwondo, where the events begin Thursday, September 2, the two French representatives can each claim the podium, or even gold: Bopha kong is quadruple world champion (2009, 2010, 2015 and 2019) and triple European champion (2014, 2017 and 2018) under 61 kg in K43; Laura Schiel is world champion (2009) under 67 kg in Open and European champion (2019) over 58 kg in K44.

However, the task promises to be more difficult for the former. Used to fighting in the K43 category, the Franco-Vietnamese, doubly amputated of the forearms after a homemade bomb exploded in his hands when he was 18 years old, will be opposed to the fighters of the category 44 ( handicap of one arm or equivalent limitation), the two classes having been regrouped in Tokyo. a “Very significant disadvantage”, notes the DTN of the French Taekwondo Federation (FFTDA), Patrick Rosso.

For his part, Oury Sztantman fears the performance of Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. The nations that “Align the most combatants with disabilities”, insists the head of the France taekwondo pole.

The virtual absence of succession

The taekwondo and badminton federations – two disciplines formerly placed under the aegis of the French Handisport Federation – have respectively obtained only january 2017 and in april 2019, the sports delegation of the Ministry of Sports, which allows them to organize the practice of their discipline. Athletes with disabilities have thus been able to benefit from a high-level athlete status and the resulting personalized assistance.

However, the situation of these athletes remains precarious: the players are “Dispersed throughout the territory”, underlines Jérôme Careil, the DTN of the FFBAD, arguing a “Significant structuring deficit”.

A little over three years before the Paris Games, it is the virtual absence of succession that worries the French technicians. “If we look at the figures, there are not many licensees who declare themselves para[athlètes] in our community because disability is not always well accepted [par les sportifs] or not very well assumed by the clubs ”, observes Yohan Penel.

In France, parabadminton counts two hundred practitioners. Its martial arts counterpart has barely ten, not enough to create a French championship. Because a large part of disabilities are not visible, many are “Want to live their associative life like the others”, continues the French boss of badminton. “They are in the clubs but they want to practice with the able-bodied”, confirm the DTN of taekwondo, Patrick Rosso.

“Street castings”

For “Promote a culture of inclusion”, the federations carry out pedagogy in schools and universities and multiply the days of detection. It was during one of these days that the national taekwondo coach spotted a “Potential” for 2024. A young woman, aged 14 at the time, paralyzed in her left arm, whom she “Hid under his sweatshirt”, remembers the coach.

A year later, it was in a sports store that Oury Sztantman discovered a promising talent. From “Street castings”, as he calls them, which reflect the difficulty in detecting high-level athletes, eligible with their handicap and “Able to accuse blows”.

A medal from taekwondoist Bopha Kong and badiste David Toupé (first French world champion in parabadminton) would be a fair reward for two athletes who have done a lot for the development of their disciplines. “We need ambassadors, life-changing journeys, like that of David [victime d’un accident de ski], to make the practice visible ”, says Yohan Penel.

Bopha kong will try, for its part, to perpetuate a certain French tradition of taekwondo at the Games, a sport which has always allowed the Blues to bring home a medal since the introduction of the discipline among able-bodied, in Sydney, in 2000.