Beijing organizers said on Thursday that it is the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and international sports federations who decide an athlete's eligibility for the Paralympics.

Javelin throwers Chiang Chih-chung and Chen Ming-tsai, who had represented Chinese Taipei in past IPC events, are missing from the Chinese Taipei delegation to the Beijing Paralympics.

Wang Hui, media chief of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) which also organizes the Paralympics, said in Thursday's press conference: "It is the IPC and the international federations of specific sports, rather than BOCOG, who have the right to approve an athlete's participation in the event."

Chiang, 28, won gold medals at the Sydney and Athens Paralympics, while Chen was a gold medalist at the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships.

The 11-day, 20-sport Paralympics will open in the Chinese capital on Saturday.

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2008)