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Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
AS the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games get closer Zimbabwe are set to send a nine-member team for the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai next month hoping some of the athletes meet the qualifying standards.
The event is scheduled to run from February 6 to 14. It is one the qualifying events to the Games.
Zimbabwe missed out on qualification last year due to the cancellation and postponement of some of the qualifying competitions they were targeting.
The Grand Prix in Dubai is one of the competitions they were supposed to compete in last March before it was postponed. And due to travel restrictions they could not participate in other events that were held later in the year in 2020.
Chef de mission for the Games Ignatius Vambe said this is likely to be their last chance to try and qualify for the Games.
Although initially they were considering fielding athletes for powerlifting, the focus is now on athletics and will be fielding athletes in three categories that is the visually impaired, amputees and a blade runner.
“So for us as Zimbabwe we picked on athletics because if you look at our track record as a country in terms of Paralympics that is where we have the highest number of medals. So we looked for an event where we thought we would be able to get people qualifying for Tokyo.
“We have three categories, we have the visual impaired, we have got the amputees and we have got one blade runner. For the others the window has already closed,” said Vambe.
Online Reporter