Wheelchair basketball at Tokyo Paralympics: All you need to know

Wheelchair basketball is always one of the most popular sports at a Paralympics

Key information

Dates: 25 August-5 September

Venue: Musashino Forest Sport Plaza/Ariake Arena

Gold medals on offer: Two

How does it work?

Wheelchair basketball has been one of the mainstays of the Paralympics since the first Games in Rome in 1960.

It is similar in many ways to the running game - the court is the same size and the the basket is the same height, each team consists of five players and a team has 24 seconds from taking possession of the ball to complete an attempt on the basket.

The scoring system is the same too - one point for a free-throw, two for a field basket and three for a shot made behind the three-point line.

Matches consist of four quarters of 10 minutes each.

Players move the ball around the court by passing or dribbling. A dribble is when a player bounces the ball and pushes their chair simultaneously or, places the ball on their lap and takes up to two pushes of the chair before bouncing the ball again.

Players are required to throw or bounce the ball after every two pushes of the wheels on their chairs to avoid being penalised for 'travelling'.

A player who commits five personal fouls must be replaced in the game by another player.

All players are given a points total from 1.0 (the most impaired) up to 4.5 (the least impaired) and this is based on an athlete's functional ability to complete all skills necessary to play the game.

Each squad can consist of up to 12 players, with only five players on the court at any one time. To ensure fair play on both sides, the points total of all five players on a team must not exceed a combined total of 14.0 points to rule out any physical advantage on either side.

What are the British medal hopes?

The men are current world and European champions and are hoping to hold all three major titles. Gregg Warburton won most valuable player at the 2018 Worlds and will be a key figure along with Harry Brown and Terry Bywater, who will be playing in his sixth Paralympics.

The women have never won a Paralympic medal but were runners-up at both the worlds and Europeans and will look to the likes of Amy Conroy, Helen Freeman and Robyn Love to improve on their fourth place in Rio.

Who are the other challengers?

The USA are the defending champions in both the men's and women's competition and will be strong again. Australia and Spain are among the leading nations in the men's game, while the Netherlands are the women's world and European champions and Germany are always dangerous.

Did you know?

Wheelchair basketball was the sport of former International Paralympic Committee president Sir Philip Craven. He competed in it at five Games from 1972-1988 but failed to win a Paralympic medal.

ParalympicsGB Rio 2016 medals

One - bronze (men)