Francis Rombouts (boccia) explained

Francis Rombouts
Birth Date:11 February 1984
Birth Place:India
Coach:Bas Van Dycke
Wesley Deleu
Sport:Boccia
Disability Class:BC2

Francis Rombouts (born 11 February 1984) is a Belgian Paralympic boccia player of Indian descent. He competes in classification BC2.[1]

Biography

Rombouts was born in India with cerebral palsy and was adopted at the age of 18 months by a Belgian family. He started playing Boccia at the age of 12 at Parantee-Psylosclub IE Sport at the insistence of club administrator Jo De Becker who was also a teacher at Rombouts's school, "VIBO De Brem", a special education school in Oud-Turnhout.[2] He is a member of Spinnaker in Ekeren, Belgium, a sporting club associated with Heder, an institution for children, youngsters and adults with a mental or physical disability.[3] His chosen nickname is "Blackjack", a reference to the white ball or "jack" associated with Boccia and the dark colour of his skin.

Personal

Rombouts lives in Tielen.

Competitions

His first international competition was in 1989 in Mar del Plata, Argentina.[4]

Rombouts considers his 2nd place at the European Championships in 2005 to be his best performance ever.

He quit the sport in 2007 but, after a hiatus of 10 years, he returned to the sport and won a bronze medal at the 2023 European Para Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.[5]

His best result at the Boccia World Championships came in 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil when he finished just outside the medals losing in the bronze medal match to world number 2, Thailand's Watcharaphon Vongsa.[6]

Rombouts' big dream, to qualify for Summer Paralympics, was thwarted in 2000 and 2004 but became a reality after he returned to the sport in 2017 when he was selected for the 2020[7] and 2024 Summer Paralympics.[8] [9] In Tokyo, he was eliminated at the group stage after losing his first two games, the second one against world number 1, Thailand's Worawut Saengampa.[10] [11]

Notes and References

  1. News: FRANCIS ROMBOUTS . 29 August 2024 . . dutch.
  2. News: Bocciaspeler Francis Rombouts gaat naar Paralympische Spelen Tokyo 2021 . 29 August 2024 . 27 May 2020 . G-Sport Vlaanderen . dutch.
  3. https://www.spinnaker-sport.be/spinnaker
  4. News: Francis Rombouts . 29 August 2024 . 12 August 2023 . G-Sport Vlaanderen . dutch.
  5. News: FRANCIS ROMBOUTS REMPORTE LE BRONZE À L'EURO DE BOCCIA . 29 August 2024 . 12 August 2023 . . french.
  6. News: F. ROMBOUTS PREND LA 4ÈME PLACE AUX CH. DU MONDE DE BOCCIA . 29 August 2024 . 10 December 2022 . . french.
  7. News: Rombouts first Belgian athlete picked for Tokyo 2020 Paralympics . 29 August 2024 . 29 May 2020 . Inside the Games.
  8. News: Final selections for Paris 2024 . 29 August 2024 . 1 July 2024 . Boccia International Sports Federation.
  9. https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024-paralympics/athlete/francis-rombouts_1989024
  10. News: Francis Rombouts éliminé après une deuxième défaite en boccia aux Jeux Paralympiques de Tokyo . 29 August 2024 . 29 August 2021 . RTL INFO . french.
  11. News: Results Archive - Tokyo 2020 - Boccia - Individual Bc2 . 29 August 2024 . www.paralympic.org.