The National Paralympics Committee (NPC) is set to stage a power lifting tournament on December 22-23.

After failing to secure funds to send the national team to the African power lifting championship that climaxed on Wednesday in Cairo, Egypt, the Paralympics body has decided to stage its own local tourney.

The National Paralympics Committee president Dominique Bizimana told Times Sport yesterday that the tournament is aimed at finding capable lifters whom they will try to secure a wild card invitation from the international body (IPC) for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

"We had three lifters who were due to take part in the African championship but they never managed to take part in the event.

"So this event will help to find more other lifters who can constitute the Rwandan team,” Bizimana said.

The three leading Paralympics’ lifters in the country are: Jean Marie Vianney Rutayisire, Slyvestre Kalema and Theogene Tuyisenge.

Paralympics is among the five disciplines that represent Rwanda in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and they have the only least number of athletes who have beat qualification standards.

Elmas Muvunyi obtained qualification for the Games during the All African Games where clocked 11.41 to finish sixth in 100m thus earning a chance to participate in the Beijing Games.

The other athlete who qualified is Jean de Dieu Nkundabera who finished sixth in the 800m clocking 1.58.81 in the same Games held in Algeria mid this year.

Nkundabera also won a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics Games which were held in Athens, Greece.

Despite beating minimum and maximum qualification standards, the national Paralympics body is planning to apply for wild cards for the pair (Nkundabera and Muvunyi) such that they can also take part in long jump and triple jump respectively.

He other disabled person who is under the list of wild card bound list is Lyce Kwizera (cycling).

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