The Olympic flame was lit up again in the Chinese capital. The Turkmen delegation took part in the XIII Summer Paralympic opening ceremony, which was held at the world’s largest stadium Bird’s Nest on September 6.

After successfully hosting the 2008 summer Olympiad, Beijing becomes the focus of the world. The Beijing Paralympics moves whole world. The Beijing Paralympics is of the largest scale in the history of the Games with the participation of over 4,200 athletes and over 2,500 officials and coaches from 148 countries and regions will take part. This will be the largest ever number of nations at the Paralympics. The largest delegation is from China represented by 332 athletes.

Turkmenistan is represented in the powerlifting competition (bench press) by three athletes. The most experienced athlete in the Turkmen team is 39-year-old Ovezgeldy Orjiev (under 75 kg) from Mary Disabled Athletics and Sports Club. In 2003 O. Orjiev won the bronze medal of the Open European Bench Press Championships in Slovakia and ranked among ten best powerlifters at the Athens Paralympics last year.

The silver medal winners of the IX Asian Paralympics in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) – 22-year-old Mayagozel Pekieva (under 56 kg) and 21-year-old Valentina Simakova (under 67.5 kg) from Ashgabat are the debutants of the World Paralympics.

The mascot of the 2008 Summer Paralympics is a happy bull-calf Lele. In China it symbolizes diligence, combativity and optimism.

President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Philip Craven said “The organizers of the Beijing Paralympics would set a good model for future hosts. We all expect that this games will open a new chapter in the history and progression of the Paralympic Movement.”

The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, is being held in Beijing, China from September 6 to September 17, 2008.