Lima is set to stage the WSPS Championships from September 17 to 29 2023 ©Getty Images

Peru's capital Lima has been awarded hosting rights for the 2023 World Shooting Para Sport (WSPS) Championships, marking the first time that the event is set to take place in the Americas.

Competition is due to be held at the Las Palmas Air Base, which was built for the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games, when Para shooting made its debut at the continental multi-sport event.

The venue also staged a Shooting Para Sport World Cup in 2021, which served as the last qualification event for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

WSPS senior manager Tyler Anderson said that hosting the World Championships would build on Lima's previous hosting of major events.

"We are extremely happy to host the World Championships for the first time in Peru, South America and the Americas," Anderson said.

"We look forward to returning to Lima, in a legacy venue where our sport for the first time took part in the Parapan American Games in 2019.

"We worked hard to make this agreement after a previously identified host pulled out earlier this year.

"However, we could not be more excited about the outcome.

"We have a Local Organising Committee with great experience after a successful World Cup in 2021 and with their positive attitude and Peruvian hospitality, we have no doubts this will be a fantastic World Championships."

Lima is set to become the first city in the Americas to stage the WSPS Championships ©Getty Images
Lima is set to become the first city in the Americas to stage the WSPS Championships ©Getty Images

National Paralympic Committee of Peru President Lucha Villar expressed her pride at the country being awarded the Championships.

"It is an honour for Peru to be designated, for the second time, as the venue for a major shooting Para sport event, and to make a first-class shooting range available to all countries," Villar said.

"In 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, we witnessed how the last qualification places for the Paralympic Games for Tokyo were defined.

"Now, we will be part of the path that will take Para athletes to their next challenge at Paris 2024.

"We invite you to intensify your preparation and look forward to having you all in Lima, in what will be the most important Para sport event that will take place in Peru next year."

The WSPS World Championships is set to return after a three-year absence in Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates from November 6 to 17 this year.

Next year's WSPS World Championships are scheduled for September 17 to 29, with around 300 athletes from more than 50 countries expected to feature.