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chao news client reporter zhang feng intern chen yanxi

on the afternoon of september 2, beijing time, in the mixed team w1 compound archery final of the paris paralympic games, chinese athletes zhang tianxin and chen minyi won the championship together, winning the 36th gold medal for the chinese delegation. prior to this, zhang tianxin had already won a bronze medal in the men's individual w1 archery.

zhang tianxin and chen minyi waved to the audience after winning the championship. image source: zhejiang provincial disabled persons’ federation

zhang tianxin, 26 years old this year, was born in jiaxing, zhejiang. he is the second child in the family. he should have grown up happily and carefree, but when he was eight or nine years old, he suffered from sudden cerebral palsy which compressed his nerves. he was later diagnosed with a second-level limb disability and has been unable to walk normally like a healthy person since then.

by chance, zhang tianxin developed an indissoluble bond with archery. in 2017, zhang tianxin participated in the selection of hangzhou sports training school with the encouragement of his sister. the archery coach's insight changed the trajectory of his life. pulling the bow, aiming, putting it down... after joining the team for training, zhang tianxin started practicing from the basic movements, exercising his arm strength day after day. such movements had to be repeated dozens or even hundreds of times every day, and he often couldn't sleep at night due to arm pain. despite this, zhang tianxin never thought of giving up.

from a new archery player to an outstanding athlete who can stand on his own, the calluses on zhang tianxin's hands bear witness to the hardships and difficulties he has gone through. although he has participated in dozens of domestic and international competitions, he still respects every competition, especially recalling the careless experience when he participated in his first international competition. because he overslept and couldn't adjust his mentality, which led to unsatisfactory results, he cherishes every opportunity to stand on the field.

in 2021, he won the men's archery w1 mixed team gold medal when he stepped onto the paralympic stage for the first time. after that, he won the men's w1 individual open class gold medal in archery at the 4th asian para games in hangzhou in 2023, and won the men's w1 double team gold medal in archery with a world record-breaking result.

at the 4th asian para games in hangzhou last year, zhang tianxin won both the men's w1 double team open class and individual open class championships. image source: pinghu disabled persons' federation

at this paris paralympic games, zhang tianxin completed both events he competed in, winning a gold and a bronze, and fulfilling his dream again.

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