TOKYO, August 26. /TASS/. Russian wheelchair fencer Alexander Kuzyukov won gold on Thursday at the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in Tokyo in the men’s epee individual Category B competition.

Kuzyukov defeated in the final 15-8 Jovane Guissone of Brazil to bring the first gold medal of RPC Team’s fencing squad at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

The 34-year-old Russian Para athlete is a three-time winner of the world and European championships. Kuzyukov is on the roster of the Russian national Paralympic team since 2014.

The 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in Japan’s Tokyo are being held between August 24 and September 5, 2021. In March 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced their decision to postpone the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Japan for one year due to the continuous COVID-19 spread.

Team RPC at 2020 Summer Paralympics in Japan

The team of national athletes from Russia at the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in Japan includes 242 athletes, while the overall number of the RPC delegation in Tokyo stands at 432 people. The selected Paralympians from Russia are fighting for medals in 19 out of the 22 sports competitions, on the program of the quadrennial event.

Russian athletes are competing in the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in Tokyo under the flag and logo of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) instead of the Russian national flag and state emblem.

The national anthem of Russia is also under sanctions at the Paralympics in Japan. The First Piano Concerto by Pyotr Tchaikovsky was selected to be played at awarding ceremonies for Russian Paralympians in Tokyo.