Oscar Pistorius could compete in 2020 Paralympics, says SA Sports chief

Johannesburg, July 12 (ANI): Disgraced South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius may compete at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, according to the country's Olympic committee chief. The 29-year-old began his sentence last week after the High Court in Pretoria sentenced him to six years in jail for the murder of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. In an interview to a leading UK-based online portal, South Africa's Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee CEO Tubby Reddy said that he would not be opposed to the idea of Pistorius returning to represent his nation, Sport24 reported. According to Reddy, the double-amputee athlete 'would have paid his debt to society and will be back in society' after serving his sentence. He claimed that there exists no rule which debars the six-time Paralympic gold medal winner from representing his nation anymore. Pistorius will be eligible for parole once he completes half to two-thirds of his sentence. In that scenario, the then 32-year-old would get a full year to train for the 2020 Paralympics. Earlier in December, Pistorius, famously known as the Blade Runner, was found guilty of murder after the Supreme Court overturned his previous culpable homicide conviction following the state's successful attempt in challenging the verdict. Pistorius has always denied deliberately killing his girlfriend and claimed that he mistook her for an intruder before shooting her dead with four bullets fired through a closed toilet door. (ANI)