A total of 46 games will be played during the week-long tournament in Vejle. The 2022 Wheelchair Rugby World Championship got underway on Monday, 10 October in the Danish city of Vejle with 12 of the world’s best teams hunting for gold
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The 2022 Wheelchair Rugby World Championship got underway on Monday, 10 October in the Danish city of Vejle with 12 of the world’s best teams hunting for gold.
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As several teams are in real contention for a medal, the tournament promises a week of exciting action. More than 130 players, including a record 13 women, will compete at the event, which will also feature a quarterfinal stage for the first time at the world championships level.
“I’m expecting this to be the deepest world championships ever,” said Kevin Orr, head coach of defending champions Japan. “The 12 teams here are all very strong, I think the top eight particularly are all very strong, and the fact that there are quarterfinals here is going to make that even more interesting.”
Japan building momentum for Paris 2024
Japan, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic bronze medallists, are coming into the world championship as world No. 1 and hoping to build momentum for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games by winning the tournament. The squad features veteran players, including captain Yukinobu Ike and Daisuke Ikezaki, who led the team to victory in their first world championship four years ago in Sydney. Since losing to Great Britain in the semifinals at Tokyo 2020, the team members have reviewed their defence technique with an eye on the top prize in the French capital. “At the previous world championship, we wanted to become the best team ahead of the Tokyo Games. It was a great experience that we were able to do just that, but Tokyo 2020 showed that winning a world championship doesn’t necessarily lead to a Paralympic gold,” Ike said. “So we want to take whatever we can learn from this tournament and improve in the two years leading up to Paris,” he added. Japan expect tough competition in Pool B from two-time Paralympic champions Australia, as well as Canada and Denmark who have recently shown tremendous growth. Brazil are making their world championship debut, while Colombia are playing in the tournament for the second time. “We can’t feel safe no matter who we face. It’s a group that is not easy to advance from,” Ike said. “Many teams have young players who have really grown since Tokyo, making this world championship a very close competition. I want to take the top spot (of the podium) with my teammates again.”
