by Ian Marshall

At 9.00 am in men’s singles class 3, China’s Feng Panfeng, listed at head of the world rankings and thus the top seed, faces Italy’s Matteo Orsi.

Now 31 years old, for over a decade, Feng Panfeng has dominated the category, he has no equals. He possesses every conceivable honour the sport has to offer.

He is the reigning Paralympic Games and Asian Games champion, as well as occupying the same exalted position in the World Championships and Asian Championships.

In Tokyo, he is aiming for a stunning fourth consecutive gold in men’s singles class 3. On home soil in 2008, he prevailed in Beijing, then he performed successful a title defence in London (2012) followed by Rio de Janeiro (2016).

Overall, in Tokyo he will be seeking a seventh gold medal; the appetite to compete, to succeed, to prove yourself is as strong as ever. In Japan’s capital city, he is the man to beat.

Competing in men’s team class 3; in London he partnered Gao Yanming and Zhao Ping to the title; four years later with Zhai Xiang replacing Gao Yanming, he prevailed in Rio de Janeiro.

Born on Wednesday 20th December, similar to many of his teammates who compete in the para wheelchair category, Feng Panfeng was a victim of the Pizhou polio outbreak.

He attended New Hope Center as a child and was identified by Heng Xin, a local coach, as a player with great potential, the far seeing coach has proved very correct!