Kyrgyzstani Valeria Birilo won a gold medal at the Asia Pacific Deaf Games in judo. The Department of Physical Culture and Sports reported.
In the semi-finals, Valeria Birilo defeated an Iranian athlete, and in the finals, she won her opponent from Kazakhstan, becoming the champion of the Games in her weight category.
The Deaf Games are sports competitions for people with hearing impairments. They are held under the auspices of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD). A distinctive feature of the Deaf Games is that sound signals such as a starting pistol or a referee’s whistle are not used during these competitions.
Athletes with a hearing loss of at least 55 decibels in the better ear may participate in the Deaf Games. During the competition, participants are prohibited from using hearing aids and cochlear implants.
The first ever International Deaf Games took place in August 1924 in Paris.
