We take a quick look at the athletes to look out for at the BISFed 2016 World Individual Championships next week. The players are undergoing their final preparations before they make the journey to Beijing for the season opener in the Chinese capital.
BC1
The world rankings would have you believe that Daniel Perez (Netherlands) and David Smith (Great Britain) are the only 2 athletes in contention for gold however the 2 Thai athletes, Pattaya Tadtong and Witsanu Huadradit, are ranked 3 and 4 in the world after only entering 3 competitions in the last 2 years. They have placed 1st and 2nd in the last 2 of those competitions and will be difficult players to beat in Beijing.
BC2
Maciel Santos (Brazil) is undoubtedly the favourite to win the BC2 event. He’s been number one in the BISFed rankings from the outset and it will take a strong performance from his competitors to prevent him being crowned World Champion. Perhaps the most likely challenger will be home favourite Zhiqiang Yan (China). The world number 2 finished 1st in the last BISFed event in Cali and claimed silver last time out in Beijing back in 2014. The winner of the gold medal that day, Watcharaphon Vongsa (Thailand) will also be a strong contender for the medals this time around.
BC3
Great Britain’s Jacob Thomas won’t be in attendance in Beijing so the competition is wide open with the 2 Korean athletes hot favourites to medal. Ho Won Jeong and Han Soo Kim have not failed to make the top 3 in each of their last 3 competitions but the European athletes will be doing their upmost to get their hands on a medal. Grigorios Polychronidis, Peiter Cilissen and Jose Macedo are to name but a few of the athletes all vying for the podium.
BC4
The BC4 event is the most hotly contested. Yuk Wing Leung (Hong Kong) has recently been nominated for the Laureus World Sportsperson of the year 2016 with a disability award and is perhaps the favourite for the title however Marco Dispaltro (Canada) and Eliseu dos Santos (Brazil) are two athletes that always raise their game for the big occasion!
The action gets underway on the 21st March. You can keep up to date on Facebook and Twitter or watch live streaming on our website.
