BOCCIA sounds remarkably simple. Throw one or more of six coloured balls closer to a white target ball, also known as a “jack”, than your opponent.

Simple? Think again. This sport is a combination of chess, snooker and bowls – where strategy, precision, steely nerves, and a little luck all come into play.

One of two Paralympic Sports at Tokyo 2020 that has no Olympic equivalent, it shares similarities with the French game of boules or the Italian equivalent of bocce.

The game traces its roots back to ancient Greece and Egypt and is thought to be one of the oldest sports.

But this is no game played by old men on dusty Italian or French town squares. It is actually gripping and addictive to watch.

Boccia, which has been part of the Paralympics since 1984, was designed so that athletes with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy or any kind of neurological impairment affecting motor function can participate.

Players in wheelchairs use their hands, feet, or the help of assistive devices such as ramps and pointers, to launch leather balls that are specially made for easy gripping, and which are filled with plastic granules to prevent bouncing.
 
‘Incredibly impressive’
Whichever method is employed, angles, trajectory, speed and a calculating brain are crucial to prevail in an indoor playing field roughly the size of a badminton court.

Leading Canadian player Julian Ciobanu, who has muscular dystrophy, compares it to another sport.

“It’s like archery,” he told AFP today, after winning his second consecutive pool match in the BC4 class (players with non-cerebral impairments that also impact their co-ordination) at the Ariake Gymnasium in Tokyo.

“But you are shooting with your hand or foot,” he added.

Some boccia players have severe physical impairments. Ciobanu, who competes in the unassisted category and throws conventionally from his hand, expressed admiration for his fellow boccia athletes and praised them for the accuracy of their shots.

“It’s incredibly impressive when you see these people with their physical limits.

“It’s a precise sport… that involves a lot of passion, a lot of concentration and a lot of strategy, like a game of chess. You need to play with a lot of confidence and always think two or three bowls ahead,” he said.

One of the flamboyant stars of the sport is Britain’s David Smith, who is aiming for a second straight BC1 class (athletes with severe activity limitations affecting their legs, arms and trunk, and typically dependent on a powered wheelchair) Paralympic gold.

Unmistakable with his striking blue and red mohawk, Smith identified one other attribute needed in boccia – luck.

“I had to dig in a bit and get a little bit of luck,” said Smith after squeezing past Argentina’s Mauricio Ibarbure 4-3 in a titanic pool tussle.

“Sometimes it’s all about the run of the ball on this floor,” added Smith who won silver at the 2012 London Paralympics and is chasing his third straight Paralympics Games medal.

“Games can be won and lost by little details, so yeah I’ll take all the luck I can get, to be honest,” said Smith who holds a triple crown of major tournament titles – 2016 Paralympics, 2018 World Championships, and 2019 European Championships.

Individual medals, which are open to men and women, will be decided during the finals on Wednesday, followed by pairs and team competitions which will conclude on Saturday. – AFP, August 29, 2021.