Rwanda National Olympic Committee (RNOC) has short listed Swimming, Boxing, Cycling, Athletics and Paralympics as the only sports disciplines that Rwanda will represented in during in next year’s Beijing Olympic Games.

In exclusive interview with Times Sport the RNOC head of delegation Thierry Ntwali revealed that the five disciplines have been selected basing on their recent showing on the international scene.  

"The federations of the five sports disciplines will select capable and result oriented athletes who look to win silverware for the country in the forthcoming international event” Ntwali revealed.

However he cautioned the athletes that it is not automatic that the current national team squads of the listed disciplines will be in Beijing.

"However, all the five sports disciplines must fight hard to obtain the qualification marks  during the forthcoming  African qualification events so as to be able to qualify for Beijing next year,” Ntwali said.

Ntwali further added that at the meantime, they have not yet agreed on the number of athletes who will compose each sport discipline but also said each federation should fight hard to excel in the qualifiers.

Meanwhile, the above named sports disciplines have stepped preparations ahead of the Beijing qualifiers on the continental level slated for late this year and early 2008 respectively.

The boxing federation is yet to name a five-man team which will start preparations for this year’s qualifiers due to be staged in either Kenya or Sudan in December.

Both the cycling and swimming federations will name their respective team early next year as the qualifiers are slated for February while the athletics body will be represented by a six-man which is yet to be named.

The Paralympics federation will name their team after participating in the African qualifiers set to be held in Kenya late this year.

In a related development, the three-day Chefs de Mission seminar of the Beijing Paralympics ended last week.

The meeting which was attended by the Rwanda Paralympics Committee president Dominique Bizimana, enhanced understanding and friendship between the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and the national and regional Paralympics committees (NPCs), and BOCOG will seriously adopt the suggestions put forward by the attendants.

According to Bizimana, "in the year to come, BOCOG will continue to strengthen cooperation with the International Paralympics Committee (IPC), NPCs and various international Paralympics sport federations, and will take detailed measures with the aim of providing more convenient services for NPCs,” Bizimana said.

Sponsored by BOCOG and IPC, the seminar heard presentations on the Paralympics preparations and the delegates’ opinions and requirements.

The delegates from over 100 countries and regions also visited the competition venues and the Paralympics Village, and took part in the celebrations of the one-year countdown to the Paralympics scheduled from September 6-17, 2008.

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