| Boccia at the XIII Paralympic Games | |
|---|---|
 Paralympic Boccia | |
| Venue | Beijing National Convention Center |
| Dates | 7–12 September 2008 |
Boccia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics consisted of seven events. The competitions were held in the Beijing National Convention Center from September 7 to September 12.
Boccia players were given a classification depending on the type and extent of their disability. The classification system allows players to compete against others with a similar level of function. The boccia classifications were BC1 through BC4.
For each of the events below, medals were contested for one or more of the above classifications. All events were mixed, meaning that men and women competed together.
There were 88 athletes taking part in this sport.
Argentina (4)
Brazil (2)
Canada (7)
China (9)
Czech Republic (2)
Finland (3)
Great Britain (4)
Greece (3)
Hong Kong (6)
Hungary (2)
Ireland (4)
Japan (4)
New Zealand (7)
Norway (3)
Portugal (9)
Slovakia (2)
South Korea (4)
Spain (9)
Thailand (3)
United States (1)This ranking sorts countries by the number of gold medals earned by their players (in this context a country is an entity represented by a National Paralympic Committee). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If, after the above, countries are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil (BRA) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| South Korea (KOR) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 3 | Portugal (POR) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Hong Kong (HKG) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 6 | Spain (ESP) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | Greece (GRE) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Czech Republic (CZE) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ireland (IRL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (9 entries) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | |
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual BC1 | João Paulo Fernandes  Portugal | António Marques Portugal | Gabriel Shelly  Ireland |
| Individual BC2 | Hoi Ying Karen Kwok  Hong Kong | Nigel Murray  Great Britain | Manuel Ángel Martín  Spain |
| Individual BC3 | Park Keon-woo  South Korea | Grigorios Polychronidis  Greece | Jeong Ho-won South Korea |
| Individual BC4 | Dirceu Pinto Brazil | Yuk Wing Leung Hong Kong | Eliseu Santos Brazil |
| Team BC1-2 | Great Britain (GBR) Dan Bentley Nigel Murray Zoe Robinson David Smith | Portugal (POR) João Paulo Fernandes Fernando Ferreira Cristina Gonçalves António Marques | Spain (ESP) Francisco Javier Beltrán Pedro Cordero Manuel Ángel Martín José Vaquerizo |
| Pairs BC3 | South Korea (KOR) Jeong Ho-won Park Keon-woo Shin Bo-mee | Spain (ESP) Yolanda Martín Santiago Pesquera José Manuel Rodríguez Vazquez | Portugal (POR) Armando Costa Mário Peixoto Eunice Raimundo |
| Pairs BC4 | Brazil (BRA) Dirceu Pinto Eliseu Santos | Portugal (POR) Fernando Pereira Bruno Valentim | Czech Republic (CZE) Ladislav Kratina Radek Prochazka |
Boccia is a precision ball sport, similar to bocce, and related to bowls and pétanque. The name "boccia" is derived from the Latin word for "boss" – bottia. The sport is contested at local, national and international levels, by athletes with severe physical disabilities. It was originally designed to be played by people with cerebral palsy but now includes athletes with other severe disabilities affecting motor skills. In 1984, it became a Paralympic sport and as of 2020, 75 boccia national organizations have joined one or more of the international organizations. Boccia is governed by the Boccia International Sports Federation (BISFed) and is one of only two Paralympic sports that have no counterpart in the Olympic program.
Archery at the 2008 Summer Paralympics consists of nine events, five for men and four for women. The competitions were held at the Olympic Green Archery Field from September 9 to September 15, 2008.
Equestrian at the 2008 Summer Paralympics consisted of eleven dressage events. The competitions were held in the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Centre from 7 September to 11 September.
Cycling at the 2008 Summer Paralympics consisted of 44 events in two main disciplines, track cycling and road cycling. Track cycling was held in Laoshan Velodrome on 7–10 September, and road cycling took place at the Changping Triathlon Venue on 12–14 September.
Rowing at the 2008 Summer Paralympics was held in Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park from 9 September to 11 September. This was the first time that rowing was competed at the Paralympic Games.
Eighty athletes representing 25 countries in three keelboat classes - the 2.4mR, the SKUD 18, and the Sonar, took part in sailing in the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Sailing was held in two designated areas on the Yellow Sea, Qingdao, Shandong province, from September 8 to September 13.
Shooting at the 2008 Summer Paralympics consisted of twelve events. The competition was held in the Beijing Shooting Range Hall from 7 September to 12 September.
Table tennis at the 2008 Summer Paralympics was held in the Peking University Gymnasium from September 7 to September 15.
Wheelchair fencing at the 2008 Summer Paralympics was held in the Fencing Gymnasium of the Olympic Green Convention Centre from 14 September to 17 September.
Wheelchair tennis at the 2008 Summer Paralympics was held at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre from 8 September to 15 September.
Boccia has been contested at the Summer Paralympics since the 1984 Games in New York City and Stoke Mandeville. Five boccia events were held at those games, two for men, two for women, and one mixed event where men and women competed together. Since then, all boccia events at the Paralympics have been mixed. Athletes in this sport have cerebral palsy and are given a classification according to the extent of their disability. There were originally two classes, C1 and C2, with C1 corresponding to those with more severe impairment. In 1996 a "C1 with aid device" class was added, and in 2000 the system was changed to have four classes, BC1 through BC4.
Boccia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics was held in the ExCeL from 2 September to 8 September, with a maximum of 104 athletes competing in seven events. There were four individual events, two pair events, and one team event.
Zoe Robinson is a British boccia player who won a gold medal in the Team BC1–2 event at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. She went on to win a bronze in the same event at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, UK.
Tom Leahy is a paralympic athlete from Ireland competing mainly in category BC2 Boccia events and F32 throwing events. Leahy competed in eight Paralympic Games. He won three Paralympic gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals.
Boccia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics was held in Riocentro, in the Barra district of Rio de Janeiro in September 2016, with a maximum of 104 athletes competing in seven events. The programme consisted of four individual events, two pairs events, and one team event, spread across four classifications.
Israel competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. They are scheduled to compete in sailing, cycling, shooting, and rowing.
Singapore competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016.
Thailand competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics from 24 August to 5 September 2021. This was the country's tenth appearance at the Paralympic Games.
Colombia competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021.
Zhang Qi is a Chinese boccia player competing in the BC1 classification.
