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this article is reproduced from [people's daily];

original title: surpassing oneself and fighting tenaciously (focus on the paralympics)

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on august 28, local time, the 17th summer paralympic games opened in paris, france. chinese paralympic athletes fought bravely and tenaciously in the competition, showing strong competitive strength and good spirit.

on august 31, local time, ma jia, a chinese athlete, competed in the competition. on the same day, in the women's 50m freestyle s11 final at the paris paralympic games, ma jia won the championship with a time of 28.96 seconds and broke the world record. photo by xinhua news agency reporter xiong qi

li zhangyu overcame injuries and won four consecutive paralympic titles in the track cycling c1-3 1000m individual time trial; zhao shuai/mao jingdian and peng weinan/xiong guiyan won the gold and silver medals in the 17th mixed doubles table tennis, and two five-star red flags flew high in the stadium... since the start of the paris paralympic games, the chinese sports delegation has made good news and achieved good results in cycling, track and field, table tennis, swimming and other events. as of 16:00 local time on september 1, the chinese sports delegation led the gold and medal charts with 24 gold, 19 silver and 8 bronze medals.

the attitude of striving is the most moving. the chinese athletes fought hard and bravely pursued their dreams in the paralympic games, and the scenes were inspiring. their spirit of self-improvement and optimistic attitude towards life also touched countless people.

“as long as everyone gives their best, everyone can shine.”

at the saint-quentin velodrome in yvelines, when 36-year-old li zhangyu got on his bike, the athletes and spectators around him all looked at him with admiration. on the first day of the paris paralympic games, li zhangyu won the first gold medal for the chinese sports delegation in the men's c1 3000m individual pursuit race in track cycling; two days later, he won the gold medal in the c1-3 1000m individual time trial with an outstanding performance. from london to paris, four paralympic games, six paralympic gold medals, all witnessed li zhangyu's tenacity and perseverance.

li zhangyu was confident and calm in the cycling race. his smile was very contagious and his spirit of breaking the wind was admirable. at the award ceremony, when the five-star red flag rose slowly, li zhangyu held his head high and sang the national anthem word by word. "i hope more disabled people can find their self-worth through sports," he said.

participating in sports, exploring potential, surpassing oneself, and warming people's hearts - like li zhangyu, many disabled athletes have such experiences and feelings. for them, participating in sports is not only a way to strengthen their bodies, but also a way to realize themselves.

for wen xiaoyan, who was born in 1997, physical disability cannot stop her pursuit of a better life. in the rio paralympics and tokyo paralympics, she won 5 gold medals in sprint and long jump events. in paris, wen xiaoyan continued to challenge herself and won the gold medal in the women's 200m t37 class in track and field with a lead of two positions over the second place. her time of 25.86 seconds also broke the paralympic record. "i love running so much. i feel i still have room for improvement." wen xiaoyan said after the game that she hopes her performance will inspire more disabled people to go out of their homes and integrate into society. "as long as we go all out, everyone can shine."

“pursuing my dreams makes me stronger”

in the women's 50m freestyle s6 competition, 19-year-old jiang yuyan broke the tournament record twice and finally won the gold medal; in the 20-minute final of the mixed men's and women's 4×50m freestyle relay, she and her teammates defended their titles with a time of 2 minutes 14.98 seconds. in fact, jiang yuyan's main event in the tokyo paralympic cycle was the 400m freestyle, and in the paris paralympic cycle, she consciously increased strength training to improve her explosive power and make herself more competitive in short-distance events. "pursuing my dreams has made me stronger. my goal is to swim faster and faster and constantly surpass myself." next, jiang yuyan will also compete in the 50m butterfly, 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke and other events.

wang xiaomei, born in 2000, is the youngest member of the chinese paralympic cycling team and won a silver medal at the tokyo paralympics. in this paralympic games, she broke the world record twice in the women's c1-3 3000m individual pursuit race and won the championship. "i am very happy to win the championship. this gold medal is a testimony to my growth." standing on the highest podium, wang xiaomei burst into tears.

in the paralympic arena, whether or not an athlete can win a medal is not the only criterion for measuring athletes. the great courage and fighting spirit they show in the competition are more touching. 23-year-old taekwondo athlete shao qian ended her first paralympic journey with a defeat, but she did not lose heart, but became more determined to fight for her goal. "my balance ability needs to be improved, and my mentality needs to be further tempered. i will continue to work hard to let more people see the elegance of chinese taekwondo athletes." shao qian said.

“sports add color to the lives of people with disabilities”

in the women's sitting volleyball group match, the chinese team defeated the united states 3:1 and got off to a good start. during the game, team member tang xuemei would shout and celebrate every time she hit a good ball. tang xuemei was disabled in an accident at the age of 14. after practicing sitting volleyball, she gained friendship and confidence through communication and cooperation with her teammates, and became more and more cheerful. "it was sitting volleyball that helped me get out of the haze, out of the mountains, and see a wider world." tang xuemei said, "sports add color to the lives of people with disabilities."

the 10 players of the chinese blind football team are all amateur players. they are usually busy with their own work, but they prepare together before the competition. at the eiffel tower stadium, they ran at full speed and cooperated well, showing the tenacious vitality of chinese disabled athletes.

wang zongyao, the leader of the chinese blind football team, said that before the players started practicing blind football, some of them rarely left their homes, let alone running on the field. day after day of training and mutual support among the players gradually gave them courage and fighting spirit. wang zongyao said that he hoped that through the wonderful performance of the players, more people would understand the sport of blind football.

at 48, xiong guiyan is the oldest athlete in the chinese sports delegation. in the table tennis mixed doubles 17th level final, she and her partner peng weinan lost to zhao shuai/mao jingdian and won the silver medal. when she came to the mixed interview area, xiong guiyan smiled brightly. "table tennis is an indispensable part of my life. it not only helps me to strengthen my body, but also makes me more confident in facing life. even if i retire in the future, i will continue to play." she said.

at the roland garros stadium, the venue for wheelchair tennis at this year's paralympic games, the wheelchair tennis experience area attracted many young people to queue up to try it. if you fall, you must get up and play again; even if you fall behind, you must not give up; regardless of winning or losing, you must shake hands and high-five your opponent and show mutual respect. these inspirational scenes teach children valuable life lessons and inspire more people to move forward courageously.