Paris 2024 Paralympics: One year to go - Will Bayley expects Games to be 'one of best ever'

Bayley mislaid retired to Chinese rival Yan Shuo successful 4 sets successful the Class 7 last successful Tokyo

Paralympic array tennis golden medallist Will Bayley is assured adjacent year's Paris Games volition beryllium a spectacular event.

The 35-year-old is hoping to vie successful his 5th Games and adhd to his golden and 3 metallic medals.

"I americium expecting it to beryllium 1 of the champion Games ever," helium told BBC Sport.

"For me, London acceptable the benchmark for the Paralympics. I deliberation it was perfectly unthinkable and to play successful beforehand of a location assemblage similar that with the ambiance the fans created was unsocial and spectacular.

"But I judge Paris volition beryllium up determination arsenic good arsenic 1 of the champion for atmosphere. They are a precise arrogant state and it volition beryllium a large and peculiar Paralympics."

The Brighton-based subordinate is preparing for the European Championships astatine the English Institute of Sport successful Sheffield from 4-9 September, arsenic helium bids to adhd the European rubric to his satellite crown.

Bayley won golden successful Rio and claimed idiosyncratic and squad metallic astatine the rearranged Tokyo Games successful 2021 aft recovering from a superior injury sustained portion competing successful TV amusement Strictly Come Dancing successful 2019.

"I person learned truthful overmuch from my Paralympic experiences," helium adds. "On my debut successful Beijing I mislaid astir each match, astatine London 2012 I got to the last erstwhile I wasn't expected to, and lost. You larn a hellhole of a batch from a nonaccomplishment similar that.

"Then successful Rio I got to different last and won, earlier Tokyo wherever I mislaid successful some finals.

"At the moment, I consciousness similar I americium a amended subordinate than I person ever been and I consciousness much relaxed than I person ever been going into a Paralympic year.

"I cognize my crippled wrong retired and my strategies and what mindset I request to beryllium in, and I cognize a batch astir the crippled and the players I volition play, truthful I conscionable person to support it going and support the shot rolling.

"I person been unbeaten since Tokyo, which is simply a large achievement, truthful I privation to support that going arsenic agelong arsenic possible."

Bayley has ever thrived connected vigor from the crowd, and aft Tokyo was played down closed doors helium is looking guardant to enactment some successful Sheffield and successful France adjacent year.

"It suits my crippled for determination to beryllium a assemblage there," helium continued.

"Tokyo was pugnacious due to the fact that I started truthful good successful the final. It was astir apt my champion commencement and I judge the assemblage mightiness person started to get progressive and possibly I would person pulled away, but without a assemblage determination isn't that atmosphere.

"But I americium conscionable arsenic bare arsenic ever to triumph and I deliberation I'm fortunate due to the fact that that mindset is earthy for me. That competitory instinct has ne'er gone and that is wherefore I americium inactive playing and motivated to win."

Who volition beryllium successful enactment for Great Britain successful Paris?

GB had a squad of more than 220 athletes competing successful 19 sports successful Tokyo, finishing second successful the medal table down China with 124 medals - 41 gold, 38 metallic and 45 bronze.

A similar-sized squad is expected for Paris, but the last make-up volition not beryllium confirmed until July 2024.

Sarah Storey won golden medals connected the way and connected the roadworthy successful Tokyo

Tokyo medallists including cyclist Sarah Storey, who already has a grounds 17 Paralympic golden medals and would beryllium competing astatine her ninth Games, wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft, swimmer Maisie Summers-Newton and equestrian riders Lee Pearson and Sophie Wells volition each beryllium hoping to adhd to their medal hauls successful France.

"I tin accidental with implicit assurance we volition person spine-tingling medal moments each time and beryllium doing each we tin to empower athletes to execute personal-best medal-winning performances astatine Paris 2024," said ParalympicsGB cook de ngo Penny Briscoe.

The qualification play is unfastened and GB person already obtained spots crossed a fig of sports, including astir precocious for the Para-canoeists astatine the weekend's World Championships successful Duisburg and the men's and women's wheelchair hoops squad who won golden and metallic astatine the European Championships.

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The Games volition diagnostic 4,400 athletes competing successful 549 events crossed 22 sports, with 2.8m tickets owed to spell connected merchantability connected 9 October connected a first-come first-served basis.

The 22 sports are unchanged from the Tokyo programme wherever badminton and taekwondo made their debuts.

After the Rio Paralympics was successful information of being cancelled due to the fact that of fiscal issues and the Tokyo Games was affected by the pandemic, determination is unit connected Paris to guarantee the Paralympic question continues to progress.

"I deliberation successful France they are inactive discovering Paralympic sport," International Paralympic Committee (IPC)president Andrew Parsons told BBC Sport during July's Para Athletics World Championships successful Paris.

"They person immoderate household names successful presumption of athletes but the Paralympic question tin inactive turn a batch successful the country.

"There is simply a beardown instauration to physique on, but we request enactment from the media and the French population. I deliberation the Games are coming to this state astatine the close infinitesimal to beryllium a catalyst and an accelerator, not conscionable for the Paralympic question but besides for radical with disabilities successful general.

"There's inactive a agelong mode to spell erstwhile it comes to the promotion and rights of radical with disablement inclusion and for Paralympic sport, but the Games volition assistance to bash that."

High hopes for hosts

France are acceptable to tract their biggest squad of betwixt 220 and 240 athletes arsenic they purpose to amended connected their 14th-place decorativeness successful Tokyo, wherever they won 55 medals, including 11 golds.

Among their stars are cyclists Florian Jouanny, Alexandre Leaute and Heidi Gauguin who each won golden medals astatine the caller World Championships successful Glasgow.

Triathlete Alexis Hanquinquant is unbeaten since the Tokyo trial lawsuit successful August 2019, and maintained that grounds astatine the caller trial lawsuit successful Paris.

Hanquinquant was a French combat athletics champion earlier a enactment mishap successful 2010 led to his limb being amputated

While the athletics squad struggled astatine the Worlds, failing to triumph a golden medal connected location soil, the swimming squad fared amended astatine their Worlds successful Manchester, claiming 4 golds.

Hopes are precocious that the likes of visually impaired prima Alex Portal, who won 3 golds successful Manchester, his younger member Kylian and Ugo Didier tin bask occurrence successful the La Defense Arena.

Didier, who won metallic and bronze successful Tokyo, told BBC Sport the French superior was announced arsenic big 2 days aft his 16th birthday, changing the people of his life.

"It is going to beryllium super-exciting and I'm definite that erstwhile we travel retired connected to poolside and perceive the sound of the French fans and spot the flags, it volition beryllium motivating," helium said.

"We cognize we volition person the enactment of our household and friends, but the French assemblage volition besides beryllium with us. The federation is waiting for medals and determination is unit for america arsenic athletes, but besides for the coaching unit arsenic well.

"But it is simply a existent honour to person the Olympic and Paralympic Games astatine home."

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