The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics are now well and truly on the horizon - with another stunning firework-led opening ceremony expected to kick things off in the Olympic Stadium next Tuesday.
And the action will begin a day later, with almost 4,400 athletes from 160 countries taking part in 539 events across 22 sports, with 21 different venues in use.
The 16th edition of the games will run until Sunday, September 5 and excitingly, as well as a host of first-time athletes, two sports will be making their debut at a Summer Paralympics.
Significantly, para-badminton and para-taekwondo are both included, with seven-a-side football and sailing making way to accommodate them.
It was actually as long ago as 2015 when The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced this development with IPC president Sir Philip Craven saying: “I’d like to pay testament to the sports of badminton and taekwondo for the work they have undertaken in securing their place at a Paralympic Games for the first time.
“To reach this decision, the IPC undertook the most extensive and rigorous review process ever of all the sports.
"All were assessed against the same criteria and our aim all along has been to ensure that the final Tokyo 2020 Paralympic sports programme is fresh and features the best para-sports possible.”
The badminton programme will consist of 14 events - seven men’s, six women’s and one mixed - in which a total of 90 competitors (46 men and 44 women) will take part across singles, doubles and mixed doubles events.
Taekwondo meanwhile, only came available to athletes with impairments as recently as 2005, and made its first world championship appearance four years later.
The martial art is divided into two disciplines at para level: kyorugi for athletes with upper limb impairments and poomsae for those with neurological impairments, intellectual disabilities or visual impairments. Only the former will be part of the Tokyo Games.
Events in Japan will be divided into four sport classes, from K41 to K44, with K41 being for athletes with the greatest degree of impairment and K44 for those with the least. K43 and K44 are being considered as one sport class in Tokyo 2020.
Men and women will each compete in three weight classes: -61 kg, -75kg and +75kg for men, -49kg, -58kg and +58kg for women.
Head and trunk protection are worn in all bouts - with matches taking place on an octagonal court over three two-minute rounds with one-minute rest intervals.
Competitors are awarded between two and four points for valid attacks, with an extra round held if the scores are still level after the initial three.
