Powerlifting referees course held in Japan to boost sport ahead of Tokyo 2020

Japan's Hajime Ujiro celebrates a successful lift en route to seventh place in men's under 75kg powerlifting at London 2012 ©IPC Powerlifting

A successful Japanese training course passing new powerlifting referees fit to officiate at national-level competitions has been hailed as a way to raise the profile of the sport ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Following the course, conducted by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Powerlifting in conjunction with the Japanese Paralympic Committee and the Japanese Federation for the Disabled, 16 new referees have been qualified.

They will each now be added to a list of existing officials, something that it is hoped will help allow greater numbers of competitions to take place, and thus enable more people to participate.

“Only a fair and proportionate amount of officials from Japan can attend the Tokyo Paralympics, so this will surely create a friendly rivalry at national level that will ensure the standard remains high,” said IPC Powerlifting Sport Technical Committee chair Jon Amos.

“Only the best of the best will be offered the opportunity to attend the Tokyo Paralympics, when the time comes around.

“Particularly encouraging was the attendance of a number of female candidates that will be good for Japan, the Asian region and the sport in general in the future.

"Especially if they choose to extend their knowledge of the English language to enable them to advance to international level officiating.”

Japan's Hajime Ujiro celebrates a successful lift en route to seventh place in men's under 75kg powerlifting at London 2012 ©Getty Images

The course, which was also attended by various existing officials seeking to improve upon their skills, was designed not only to educate candidates about rules of the sport, but to also highlight the "importance of the responsibility they have to fully understand, and consistently apply, the rules at national and developmental level".

Despite many of the world's best lifters coming from Asia, Japan is not currently among the strongest nations, having failed to win a medal in the sport at London 2012.

Hajime Ujiro was the highest placed Japanese competitor, finishing seventh in the men's under 75 kilograms event.

They will have a chance to continue their development at next month's IPC Powerlifting Asian Open Championships in Almaty, where more than 220 athletes from 30 countries are expected to compete.