| Action is officially underway at the Lima 2019 Parapan Am Games, as athletes from the 33 participating nations paraded into Lima’s Estadio Nacional for the Opening Ceremony, with Canada led by flag bearer Stephanie Chan. The Canadian Parapan Am Team also competed in wheelchair rugby and Para table tennis earlier in the day, and is prepping for a full slate of activity on Saturday. TOP HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY
Canada opened with a dominant win in wheelchair rugby on Friday, posting a 60-24 victory over Argentina. All 12 players saw time on the court to contribute to the triumph, with Benjamin Perkins leading the scoring with 11 tries. The team will be back on court on Saturday with two matches as round-robin play continues – first up against Brazil at 10 a.m. local time / 11 a.m. ET followed by Colombia at 5 p.m. local time / 6 p.m. ET. “Argentina has come a long way since the last time I saw them four years ago. It was a good competition to see how we’ll match up for the rest of the tournament. There are a couple other teams – Colombia and Brazil are top 12-ish worldwide and they’re making a push, so it’ll be a good game against them too. Four years ago we beat the Americans at the Toronto Parapan Ams to seal our ticket, so hopefully we’ll be able to do that again and that avoids having to go through a secondary qualification closer to Tokyo.”
– Zak Madell Day two of Para table tennis continued, with Ian Kent posting his third win of the Games to sew up the top position in his Class 8 round-robin group and move into the quarterfinals. Peter Isherwood also secured a spot in the elimination rounds following a victory on Friday to finish second in his group. He becomes the first Canadian wheelchair athlete in the sport to advance out of the round robin at a multi-sport Games. Saturday’s action will ultimately see medals handed out in singles play, with Kent, Isherwood, and Stephanie Chan still in the mix for hardware. “I double-medaled at the last three [Parapan American Games] and that means nothing. What matters is what happens here. And you have to live in the moment here. The past is history and so I look forward to making my mark at these Games one match at a time.”
– Ian Kent “It’s the first time a wheelchair athlete from Canada has advanced out of the round robin. I’m very excited. It’s also my first time at a multi-sport Games so it’s a big move for table tennis in Canada, as well as a personal goal for me to move forward, so I’m excited to take what I learned from my last two matches and move forward.”
– Peter Isherwood For the complete Canadian Parapan Am Team results on August 23, please CLICK HERE. | 
