China News Service, Beijing, October 24 (Reporters Guo Xuan and Zhu Chenxi) The 5th Asian Para Games will be held in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan from October 18 to 24. The Chinese Disabled Persons' Sports Delegation, formed by the China Disabled Persons' Federation, won 207 gold medals, 117 silver medals, and 111 bronze medals, totaling 435 medals. It ranked first in the gold medal list and medal list for five consecutive Asian Para Games. It also set 11 world records and 18 Asian records, creating the best results in overseas competitions and achieving double harvests in sports performance and spiritual civilization.
This is the fifth time that China has participated in the Asian Para Games. A total of 312 athletes participated in 17 sports and 335 minor events. It is the largest overseas participation and the largest number of athletes.
According to Chang Zheng, vice chairman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, deputy head and secretary-general of the Chinese Sports Delegation, the Chinese team performed outstandingly in advantageous events. The swimming team won 64 gold medals in 79 minor events. The track and field team won 54 gold medals, and 4 of them set 4 world records. The badminton team, table tennis team, wheelchair fencing team, cycling team, etc. have defeated strong international players and are outstanding in strength. The wheelchair tennis team defeated the world's number one Japanese player in the women's singles and doubles competitions and won gold medals.
In addition, there are many highlights in collective projects. The wheelchair basketball women's team and the blind goalball women's team defeated the host Japan team respectively, and the sitting volleyball women's team defeated the Iranian team, both of which won the championship strongly. The Chinese blind football team defeated the host Japan team and was crowned the "Triple Crown" of the Asian Para Games.
Veterans and rookies showed off their talents. Cui Zhe, a 39-year-old weightlifter, and Mina, a 40-year-old track and field athlete, participated in the Asian Para Games for five consecutive years and won gold medals. 30-year-old swimmer Zhang Meng won 8 gold medals, making him the athlete with the most gold medals in this tournament. The 18-year-old athlete Zhu Hui, who participated for the first time, won three gold medals in the swimming competition. The 19-year-old athlete Wei Jia broke two Asian records and won the championship in the track and field competition. The 19-year-old archery athlete Wang Liya won the gold medal.
At the Asian Paralympic Games, Chinese disabled athletes fulfilled their responsibility and responsibility of "the mission is on their shoulders and the struggle is on their shoulders" with excellent results and wonderful performances, demonstrating the spirit of patriotism, the Chinese sports spirit, the Paralympic spirit, and the spirit of self-improvement and high-spiritedness.
Li Yujie, the flag bearer at the opening ceremony, won the women's K44 57kg taekwondo final. From missing the gold medal by one point at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games to coming back to win the championship at this Asian Para Games, she achieved a breakthrough with the tenacity of "falling down 100 times and standing up 101 times". The Chinese women's wheelchair basketball team went through a "big change" before the game. Except for three veterans, almost all of the team were newly recruited "post-2000" players. Their belief in winning glory for the country and their excellent style of helping and complementing each other enabled them to get through all the way and achieve four consecutive championships.
Chang Zheng said that the China Disabled Persons' Federation regards this Asian Paralympic Games as a key practical exercise in preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games. While striving for excellent results, it strengthens team management, improves comprehensive guarantees, and trains young athletes. It focuses on practicing style, commanding, and adaptability to competitions, and comprehensively tempers actual combat skills. It insists on playing one game, reviewing each game, improving one step, summing up gains and losses in a timely manner, and sorting out experience and shortcomings. The events participating in this Asian Paralympic Games are closely related to the Los Angeles Paralympic Games. The Chinese sports delegation continues to maintain its leading position in Asia, tests its training results, and lays a solid foundation for preparing for the Paralympic Games.
On and off the field, the athletes of the Chinese delegation maintained good competition discipline and civilized etiquette, competed fairly and interacted friendly with foreign athletes, and fully demonstrated the good image of the Chinese team as a "civilized teacher".
After the Chinese blind football team defeated the Japanese team, the members and conductors of the two teams touched each other's shoulders and greeted each other in turn. In the swimming competition, Chinese athletes not only high-fived athletes from other countries at the poolside after landing, but also performed movements and encouraged each other in the warm-up area. These details deeply moved many people at the scene.
Chang Zheng said that the vigorous development of sports for disabled people in China not only reflects the sports spirit and strength of disabled people, but also reflects the achievements of national development and progress and human rights protection. The China Disabled Persons' Federation regards disabled people's sports as an important part of international friendly exchanges in the field of disabled people. During the current Asian Paralympic Games, the delegation took the opportunity of participating in the competition to actively strengthen exchanges with the International Paralympic Committee, the Asian Paralympic Committee, international individual sports organizations, and multiple national and regional Paralympic organizations. It took the initiative to tell the story of China and the stories of Chinese disabled people, further enhancing the external influence of China's cause of disabled people and disabled people's sports work, and making due contributions to the development of the international Paralympic movement. 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The achievements in the development of sports for people with disabilities in China are also the fruitful results of China's active implementation of the Convention.
