Preview: Wheelchair Basketball at the Parapan American Games
Medals and places in next year's Tokyo Paralympics are up for grabs in this week's Parapan American Games should Canada's men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams see success.
In the aftermath of the Pan American Games tournament earlier in the month, basketball will be back on the courts in Lima, where the Canadian contingents will be looking to go one better than 2015, both having won silver on home soil in Toronto.
The men's team have three Paralympic gold medals to their name, the latest won at the 2012 games in London. Since then, though, they have suffered a sharp drop in form. They will be looking to finally rebuild after a disappointing showing at the 2018 World Championship, where they came eleventh, and the Parapan American Games could be the place where they make that turning point.
In addition, the women's team are one of the most successful wheelchair basketball teams - four world championships, three Paralympic golds - but have come up short in recent years, though are still a feared team in the sport. They were early knockout round casualties in both the Rio games and the World Championships, and will now be looking to break that pattern in Lima.
The men's squad for the games will see veteran team leaders Bo Hedges and David Eng joined by wheelchair basketball star Patrick Anderson in a squad packed with plenty of top level experience, eight of which have competed at the Paralympic Games.
Meanwhile, the women's team is a mix of players with experience at the sport's highest level and young talent. Arinn Young and Cindy Ouellet, who led Canada to the Parapan silver four years ago, will serve as co-captains.
In both competitions, Canada will be facing Argentina, Colombia and Mexico in the group stage - a difficult first round set-up in each instance.
A regular fixture of both the men's and women's World Championships, Argentina will likely be the biggest challenge in both tournaments for Canada. The remaining two teams are also known for putting up a fight, but Colombia should prove the bigger test for the men's team with Mexico doing the same for the women's side.
The 2019 Parapan American Games open in Lima today, with the wheelchair basketball tournament taking place from the 24th to the 31st of August, with the medal matches held on the final two days.
Check back here for regular updates on Canada's progress, while everything you need to know about the Games can be found on the official Lima 2019 website.
