Over the course of 11 days in Paris, 4,400 athletes who are permanently injured, crippled, or both will fight for 549 medals across 22 sports when the Paralympic Games begin on Wednesday.

Over the course of 11 days in Paris, 4,400 athletes who are permanently injured, crippled, or both will fight for 549 medals across 22 sports when the Paralympic Games begin on Wednesday.

The French capital, which  will host the  Olympic Games, once again provides the  setting for what promises to be another spectacle, with  several locations hosting Paralympic  competitions.The historic Place de la Concorde, which hosted skateboarding, breaking and 3x3 basketball during the Olympics, will host the opening  ceremony.< br> The site next to the Eiffel Tower, which hosted beach volleyball during the Olympics, will host  Czech football, an  adaptation of the game for visually impaired players in teams of five  themselves with a  cannon that contains taps. Château de Versailles, which will host  pre-equestrian events. The Grand Palais  changes from  fence to  fence with wheelchairs. The Invalides archery venue  hosts Para-Archery."We are  in the heart of the city," International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "The symbolism behind  it is like the city of Paris  giving our athletes a  big hug.""We have monstrous  emblematic places and  we will be amazed by them," said France's  pre-triathlon champion, Alexis  Hanquinquant .” Paris is the most beautiful city in the world. I think  we will have  a truly exceptional Paralympic  GamesAmong the 22 Paralympic sports, only two do not have an Olympic  equivalent: goal and  bocce. In  the goal, the teams of visually  or blind players take turns  to roll a ball containing bells  towards the  opposite goal, while the  players of the defending  team act as goalkeepers. In  bowling, players throw or roll leather balls as close as  possible with a small ball called a jack.

Compared to the previous edition of the  Tokyo Paralympic Games, 10 medal events have been added to give  more opportunities for female athletes and those with  significant support needs.Parsons said  about 2 million of  the 2.5 million tickets  were sold for the various events,  representing the second  largest number of spectators  ever recorded in a  Paralympic Games, after the London  2012 Paralympic Games. The Paralympic flame was lit on Saturday in Stoke Mandeville, a village north-west of London, widely regarded as the birthplace of the Paralympic Games, and had to go through a torch relay under the English Channel to cities across France before lighting the cauldron. . at the opening ceremony on Wednesday.

 Impatience is growing among Parisians returning from their summer  holidays - the city  seemed almost  empty at the  start of the  month, with many  having gone to the  beach. For locals who missed the Olympic action, the  Paralympic Games are a second chance to  enjoy some  excitement.

The athletes  - the Paralympians  - will be  in the  spotlight starting  on Thursday, the first day of competition,  where they will  be. medals to be won in  pre-taekwondo, pre-table tennis,  pre-swimming and  pre-cycling on the track.

As was the case for the  Olympic Games, medals will  be awarded for  each of the 11 days of  competition.  > Many competitive athletes have titles to defend.Paralympic skier Avani Lekhara, the first Indian woman to win a pair of medals in a single edition of the Paralympics, returns to defend the air rifle gold category SH1 10m in Tokyo. > The SH1 category is reserved for rifle shooters suffering from lower limb disabilities, such as amputations or paraplegia, who can hold the weapon without difficulty and shoot while standing or sitting.