Tokyo 2020 Paralympics to feature more female athletes than any previous Games

Great Britain won 147 medals at the Rio 2016 Paralympics

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics will feature more female athletes than any previous Games, the International Paralympic Committee has announced.

In total, 4,400 athletes will compete in 537 medal events, with at least 1,756 slots available for women - a 17% increase on London 2012.

Four sports - canoeing, shooting, table tennis and wheelchair fencing - have more medal events than at Rio 2016.

But both athletics (168) and swimming (146) have fewer.

"We wanted to increase the number of slots for female athletes and athletes with high support needs," said IPC president Sir Philip Craven.

"We are confident we can build on the success of Rio 2016, a Games widely regarded as the best yet in terms of athletic performance.

"The competition to secure medal events and athlete quotas is now equally as competitive and hotly contested as the action on the field of play."

Rio 2016 featured 4,328 athletes competing in 528 medal events.

International federations submitted proposals to the IPC in January, asking for the inclusion of 4,979 athletes and 555 medal events in Tokyo.

The final programme and athlete quotas were approved by the IPC governing board on Monday.

Among the announcements were:

• The allocation of 294 gender-free slots.

• Badminton and taekwondo, the two sports that will make their Paralympic debuts in Tokyo, being awarded 14 and six medal events respectively.

• Canoe, which made its Paralympic debut at Rio 2016 with six medal events, having nine this time because of the inclusion of three va'a class events.

• Boccia being allocated 116 athlete slots, eight more than Rio 2016.

• Canoe, judo, shooting, table tennis, triathlon and wheelchair fencing also having additional slots for athletes.

• Fourteen sports featuring the same number of athletes as Rio 2016.