After an operating error, that of the International Paralympic Committee was played.
At the award ceremony for the Russian Paralympics winner Mikhail Astaschow, the organizers made a glitch: instead of the Russian Paralympic Committee's anthem, the anthem of the International Paralympic Committee was accidentally played. “It was a pure operating error,” said the spokesman for the Japanese organizers, Masa Takaya, on Friday and apologized for the mishap.
Immediately after the wrong anthem, the athlete was apologized and asked to step onto the podium again. Astashov accepted this, whereupon the correct anthem was played.
Astaschow had won the gold medal in the pursuit race over 3,000 meters the day before. Despite sanctions due to state doping, Russia was allowed to send 241 athletes to the Paralympics, but only as a team of the Russian Paralympic Committee. Instead of the Russian anthem, the piano concerto number 1 by Peter Tchaikovsky is played, the Paralympic flag is hoisted instead of the national flag.
