The 13th edition of the Winter Paralympics officially opened Friday in Beijing with an impassioned call for peace as ardent as the flame that represents the Games.
In absence of Russian and Belarusian athletes barred from competition due to the roles of each nation in the ongoing war in Ukraine, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons used his opening ceremony platform to promote peace.
“As the leader of an organization with inclusion at its core, where diversity is celebrated and differences embraced, I am horrified at what is taking place in the world right now. The 21st century is a time for dialogue and diplomacy, not war and hate,” he said.
“Tonight, the Paralympic Movement calls on world authorities to come together, as athletes do, and promote peace, understanding and inclusion. The world must be a place for sharing, not for dividing.”
Parsons proceeded to punctuated the conclusion of his speech with one, simple exclamation: “Peace.”
WATCH | IPC president Andrew Parsons delivers powerful message of peace:
IPC President Andrew Parsons opens the Paralympics with a message of peace
9 hours ago
Duration 5:46
President of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons shouts ‘peace’ to open the Beijing Paralympics. 5:46
The IPC, in a stunning reversal, announced Thursday that athletes from the two aggressor nations would be expelled from Beijing 2022.
The about-face came less than 24 hours after the organization announced it would allow Russians and Belarusians to compete, but only as neutral athletes with colours, flags and other national symbols removed because of the invasion of Ukraine.
“The war has now come to these Games and behind the scenes many governments are having an influence on our cherished event,” Parsons said Thursday after announcing the ban. “We were trying to protect the Games from war.”
Much of Parsons’ speech wasn’t heard on the live broadcast in China. Chinese state TV didn’t translate his condemnation of war, and then cut the volume from his mic.
The Chinese government has refrained from criticizing the invasion and opposed the U.S., European and other sanctions imposed on Russia.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement Friday in support of the IPC’s decision to banish athletes from the two committees.
“As millions of Canadians come together to rally behind our Paralympic athletes, the world has also come together to stand with the Ukrainian people,” Trudeau said.
“Canada supports the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to ban athletes from Russia and Belarus, and joins the international sport community in condemning Russia’s unjustifiable and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”
WATCH | While You Were Sleeping — opening ceremony:
While You Were Sleeping: Recap of The Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games opening ceremony
4 hours ago
Duration 2:40
While You Were Sleeping is back for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games. Catch up on the first thing on the docket in Beijing: the opening ceremony, with CBC Sports’ Jacqueline Doorey. 2:40
Opening ceremony festivities began as China’s president Xi Jinping and Parsons observed the raising of the Chinese flag during the playing of the country’s national anthem.
The parade of nations at Beijing National Stadium — also known as the Bird’s Nest — kicked off in front of an estimated 30,000 attendees.
Rousing support was heard during Ukraine’s walkout, as the nation’s full delegation of 29 athletes, including nine guides, all competing in biathlon and cross-country ski events, were led by flag-bearer Maksym Yarovyi — a silver medallist in men’s 7.5-kilometre sitting biathlon at the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi.
WATCH | Ukraine enters opening ceremony to applause from attendees:
Ukraine enters during the Paralympic opening ceremony
10 hours ago
Duration 1:16
Ukrainian athletes enter during the Paralympic opening ceremony parade of nations at Beijing National Stadium. 1:16
“It’s a miracle that we have made it to the Paralympics,” Ukrainian committee head Valerii Sushkevych said Thursday.
Sushkevych said it took four days for team members in Ukraine to reach Beijing. He said he slept on the floor of a bus because of a back condition during the last two days of the journey through Europe.
“We overcame a lot of barriers on the way,” he said. “Many members of our team had to escape while there was bombardment and shells exploding.”
Forrest, Westlake lead Canadian contingent
Canada’s full contingent of 49 athletes, including four guides, was enthusiastically led by curler Ina Forrest and hockey player Greg Westlake, who served as flag-bearers.
The Canadian delegation features 25 medallists and 19 rookies.
Forrest, a wheelchair curler from Spallumcheen, B.C., will add a fourth Paralympic Games to her resume. The 59-year-old struck gold at Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 before adding a bronze medal in Pyeongchang.
Heading to his fifth Paralympics, the 35-year-old Westlake, of Oakville, Ont., has helped the Canadian Para men’s hockey team earn all three medal colours with gold at Torino 2006, silver in Pyeongchang and bronze in Sochi.
WATCH | Forrest, Westlake lead Canadian contringent into Games:
Flag-bearers Ina Forrest and Greg Westlake lead Canada into the Beijing Paralympics
10 hours ago
Duration 2:42
Canada enters the Paralympic opening ceremony parade of nations at Beijing National Stadium. 2:42
Josh Dueck, Canada’s chef de mission, said the team hasn’t set medal targets. With so few international competitions amid COVID-19, it’s simply too tough to gauge how Canada stacks up.
“I think it’s pretty fair to say that the herculean task is simply arriving safely,” Dueck said.
Host country China capped the athlete parade as the home audience delivered a standing ovation while women’s nordic skier Yujie Guo and men’s hockey player Zhidong Wang led a nation-record and Games-most 96 athletes into the national stadium.
The United States features the second-highest consortium of athletes with 65.
Jinping then took the stage to officially announce the opening of the Winter Paralympic Games, which close on March 13.
Li Duan, a blind former long jumper for China who won gold in Athens in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008, felt around for the holder and encountered difficulty inserting the flame. The crowd cheered him on until he mounted it properly in the centre of a large white snowflake that then ascended to the top of the open-air stadium.
Duan then triumphantly raised his fist before a stunning firework display commenced, concluding a uniquely enthralling ceremony to start the Games.
The flame has been lit ????<br><br>An incredible fireworks display around the Bird’s Nest follows as the Paralympic Games begin ???? <a href=”https://t.co/O0eQEKWDAq”>pic.twitter.com/O0eQEKWDAq</a>
564 Para athletes will compete in Beijing, equalling the previous record set at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang.
These Games, however, will boast a record 138 women’s Para athletes — five more than in Pyeongchang.
“Much work still needs to be done to achieve gender parity but having increased female participation significantly at the Winter Games in the last 20 years shows we are heading in the right direction,” Parsons said previously.
46 National Paralympic Committees will compete in 78 medal events across six sports, broken down as 39 for men, 35 for women and four mixed events.
Watch | Replay(s) of the Beijing 2022 Paralympics opening ceremony:
CBC Presents the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony
12 hours ago
Duration 3:31:00
Watch the Opening Ceremony kicking off the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. 3:31:00
(DV) Opening Ceremony for the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022
12 hours ago
Duration 3:31:00
Watch the Opening Ceremony kicking off the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, presented with Described Video. 3:31:00
(ASL) Opening Ceremony for the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022
12 hours ago
Duration 3:32:00
Watch the Opening Ceremony kicking off the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, presented with American Sign Language. 3:32:00
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
