Five athletes and one coach from Chongqing will go to the Paris Paralympics
2024-08-17
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The 17th Paralympic Games will be held in Paris, France from August 28 to September 8, 2024. On the afternoon of August 16, the Chinese sports delegation to the Paris Paralympic Games was established in Beijing. The total number of the delegation is 516, including 284 athletes, 232 coaches, staff and competition support staff. Among them, 5 athletes, 1 coach and 1 staff from Chongqing were selected.
It is reported that 4,400 Paralympic athletes from 184 delegations will participate in the Paris Paralympic Games, with a total of 22 major events and 549 minor events, including archery, badminton, and equestrianism. The athletes from Chongqing participating in this event are Liao Keli, Yan Zhiqiang, Xiao Zuxian, Yang Tong, and Jin Yucheng, who will participate in table tennis, badminton, and hard court bowling. Ran Jun will serve as a coach for the hard court bowling event at the Paris Paralympic Games.
Looking back at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games, three athletes from Chongqing represented the country and achieved results that surpassed all previous years, breaking the zero gold medal record for athletes from Chongqing in the Paralympic Games. Table tennis player Liao Keli won 1 gold and 1 bronze, and hard court bowling player Yan Zhiqiang won 1 silver.
The athletes participating in the Paris Paralympic Games include veterans such as Liao Keli and Yan Zhiqiang who have participated in the Paralympic Games many times, as well as badminton players Xiao Zuxian and Yang Tong, and 16-year-old table tennis player Jin Yucheng who are participating in the Paralympic Games for the first time. Although it is their first time to participate in the competition, they have all won gold or silver medals in the 4th Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.
▲Liao Keli. Photo provided by Chongqing Disabled Persons’ Federation.
Liao Keli, male, born in January 1990, is a Chinese disabled table tennis player. He won the table tennis singles champion at the 1st Guangzhou Asian Para Games in 2010; the table tennis singles champion at the 2013 Beijing Asian Championships; the table tennis singles and team champions at the 2nd Incheon Asian Para Games in 2014; the table tennis singles third place and team champion at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games; and the table tennis singles third place and team third place at the 4th Hangzhou Asian Para Games.
▲Yan Zhiqiang. Photo provided by Chongqing Disabled Persons’ Federation
Yan Zhiqiang, male, born in October 1987, is a Chinese disabled boccia athlete. He won the individual gold medal at the 2010 Boccia World Championships in Portugal; the individual silver medal and team silver medal at the 2012 London Paralympic Games; the individual silver medal and team bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships; and the team silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games.
▲Xiao Zuxian. Photo provided by Chongqing Disabled Persons’ Federation
Xiao Zuxian, female, born in April 1996, is a Chinese disabled badminton player. She won the bronze medal in women's doubles at the 3rd Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018; the gold medal in women's singles and women's doubles at the 2023 Thailand Badminton International; the gold medal in women's singles and women's doubles at the 2023 Bahrain Badminton International; and the gold medal in women's singles SL3 at the 4th Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.
▲Yang Tong. Photo provided by Chongqing Disabled Persons’ Federation
Yang Tong, male, born in August 2000, is a Chinese disabled badminton player. He won the silver medal in the 2017 Yunnan Wenshan National Disabled Badminton Championships; the silver medal in the 2018 Guiyang National Disabled Badminton Championships; the silver medal in the singles at the 10th National Paralympic Games in 2019; the silver medal in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the 11th National Paralympic Games in 2021; and the bronze medal in badminton singles and the silver medal in mixed doubles at the 4th Hangzhou Asian Paralympic Games.
▲Jin Yucheng. Photo provided by Chongqing Disabled Persons’ Federation
Jin Yucheng, female, born in May 2008, is a Chinese disabled table tennis player. She ranked fifth in singles, second in women's doubles, and third in mixed doubles at the 2023 Slovenia Open; third in singles and first in mixed doubles at the 2023 Korea Open; champion of Class WD14 women's doubles at the 4th Asian Para Games in Hangzhou; first in women's doubles and third in singles at the 2023 ITTF Paralympic Table Tennis French Open.
