Excitement for the Paralympics is already in overdrive as a record 390,000 people participated in the first Paralympic ticket lottery held for residents of Japan during August and September.

This is more than three times the number of people who took part in the initial offering of tickets for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Such interest has never been seen before in the history of the Paralympic Movement, with Para badminton sure to be a favourite sport among locals when it makes its debut on the Paralympics sports programme next 25 August in Tokyo.

A total of 90 Para badminton players will compete in singles, doubles and mixed doubles events across six sport classes at the Paralympic Games, with the qualification period ending on 29 March 2020.

With the first Paralympic Ticket lottery now fully closed, Tokyo 2020 announced last week that around 160,000 people have been allocated tickets in the first phase of the ticket lottery, and about 600,000 tickets have already been purchased.

Residents of Japan will be able to participate in a second lottery which will commence next year. Applications can only be made on the Tokyo 2020 Official Ticket Website. Pre-registration via the TOKYO 2020 ID portal is necessary to enter the lottery.

People living outside of Japan will be able to purchase tickets through Authorised Ticket Resellers (ATRs). The sales launch date in each territory may vary depending on each ATR’s sales plans and schedules.

To learn more about the ticket sales schedule in each country or region, overseas residents can visit their respective ATR’s website. Click here for more.

Attention now turns to the Japan Para Badminton International which doubles as the Paralympic Games Test Event.

The Test Event from 11-17 November 2019 is a fantastic opportunity for Japanese athletes and local organisers to further raise the profile of the sport in the lead up to the Games.