The Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games will open on March 4, and the disabled athletes in mainland China will fight the field.
After the founding of New China, the mainland's sports for the disabled entered a pioneering period. Beginning in the 1950s, some welfare companies and schools began to organize sports for workers and students with disabilities. In 1957, the first Deaf Games in Chinese history was held in Beijing, and the curtain of China's sports events for the disabled slowly opened...
(1) In 1957, Beijing held the Deaf Games
Sports for the disabled can be traced back to the First World War, and the rehabilitation activities spontaneously organized by disabled soldiers on the battlefields of Europe are the prototypes of the development of modern sports for the disabled. In 1924, a hearing-impaired sports event was held in Paris, France. In 1948, the National Centre for Spinal Cord Injury in Stoke Mandeville, England, hosted a sports competition for the disabled, with only 16 disabled soldiers in wheelchairs participating. At that time, China, which was in a state of internal and external troubles, simply did not have the energy to take care of the development of sports, let alone sports for the disabled.
After the founding of New China, sports for the disabled in the mainland began to take off.
March 14, 1957, Beijing Daily, 4th page
On March 14, 1957, the 4th page of the Beijing Daily reported that in order to participate in the 8th International Deaf Games held in Italy in August of that year, Beijing Municipality formed a selection preparatory committee to select a group of players to participate in the national selection competition. The short message of more than 200 words, although humble, is of great significance, and it has sounded the clarion call for disabled people to participate in sports events in China.
In that year, Beijing held deaf athletics, table tennis, swimming competitions, with more than 1,000 applicants, and this event became the first deaf games in China's history. In the following two years, more than a dozen provinces and cities across the country held deaf sports meetings.
June 14, 1959, Beijing Daily, 4th page
On the evening of June 13, 1959, when 65 disabled athletes walked into the Beihai Stadium in Beijing, thousands of spectators burst into warm applause. The final stage of the National Deaf Men's Basketball Tournament kicked off in Beijing. It was the first national deaf men's basketball tournament ever held on the mainland. Among the 65 athletes were workers, members of the People's Commune, clerks, teachers of schools for the deaf and dumb, students and actors. (Beijing Daily, June 14, 1959, 4th edition, "National Basketball Championship for the Deaf Opening")
On June 14, 1959, in the final stage of the National Deaf Men's Basketball Tournament, Beijing and Jiangsu were in the game, and Beijing finally won 51-35. Liu Dong'ao/Photo
As the champion of the Shenyang competition area in the first stage of the preliminary round, the Beijing team also entered the final stage of the competition.
(2) Beijing female workers won China's first Paralympic championship
After nearly 20 years of suspension, after the reform and opening up, China's sports for the disabled have once again ushered in a great development, and beijing sports for the disabled have shown a high level.
In October 1983, the National Sports Invitational Tournament for the Disabled was held in Tianjin. The Beijing team's performance is outstanding, and in the athletics, swimming and table tennis competitions, all of them have entered the top three of the team's total score.
With this invitational tournament, the Chinese Sports Association for the Disabled (later the China Sports Association for the Disabled) was established. The mainland's sports work for the disabled has entered a new historical period of organized and leadership.
1984 was a year of great significance for the cause of sports for the disabled in Beijing and even in China.
This year, China participated in the Paralympic Games for the first time, when only 24 athletes were sent, including 8 athletes from Beijing, accounting for one-third. The Chinese delegation won two gold medals, ranking 23rd on the gold medal table. Beijing athletes won 1 gold medal, 1 silver medal and 4 bronze medals. Ping Yali, a young female worker at Beijing Rubber Hardware Factory (semi-blind), won the gold medal in the women's B secondary long jump competition, achieving the "zero breakthrough" of the gold medal in the Chinese at the Paralympic Games, and she also won the third place in the women's B second class 100-meter sprint. After they returned to China, a decision was announced at the celebration meeting held by the relevant departments and units of the city, and after the study and decision of the Civil Affairs Bureau and the Municipal Sports Committee, the Municipal Labor Bureau approved: Ping Yali was transferred to the regular grade in advance and promoted to the first level, and was designated as a third-level worker. Other athletes who returned with honors were also rewarded.
November 9, 1984, Beijing Daily, 4th edition
In October of the same year, the first National Games for the Disabled was held in Hefei. Beijing had 31 athletes compete. Beijing athletes won five team trophies and 21 gold medals, 14 silver medals, 13 bronze medals, and won the second place in the wheelchair basketball exhibition competition, ranking second in the country. (Beijing Daily, November 9, 1984, 4th edition, "Disabled Athletes in the City Receive Commendations and Awards")
In October 1984, China's first Paralympic Games were held in Hefei, Anhui Province.
Also in 1984, the Beijing Wheelchair Basketball Men's Team was established, which later became an ace of Beijing's disabled sports, won many national championships, and sent a large number of outstanding athletes to the national team. Cui Jianping, a street factory worker, joined the Beijing Wheelchair Basketball Team in 1984 and overcame various difficulties in life in order to train. "Although we have disabilities, we yearn for happiness, for success, and for honor for our motherland, just like healthy people." He said in an interview. (Beijing Daily, November 19, 1987, Page 1, Wheelchair Basketball Team)
November 19, 1987, Beijing Daily, 1st edition
The participation of people with disabilities in sports competitions, especially in the world arena, has caused great repercussions throughout society, and reports for disabled athletes will be held in various places. Their tenacious fighting spirit inspires many able-bodied people.
(3) Welcome the "Far South" to build a special disabled athletes village
With the in-depth development of the mainland's reform and opening up, the sports cause of the disabled has made great progress, and the Disabled in China have frequently won gold and silver in international competitions, setting new records.
In 1989, the State Council approved the holding of the Sixth Far South Games in Beijing in 1994. This is another large-scale international sports event held by the mainland after the 11th Asian Games, and it is also the first time that the mainland has hosted the International Paralympic Games, and the "Far South" Games is also the first time to be held in a national capital.
In the 1990s, Chinese wheelchair fencing teams trained hard in Beijing. Lu Jian/Photo
Beijing is fully engaged in the preparations for the Far South Games. For the convenience of the disabled, all the competition venues of the "Far South" Games are located north of Chang'an Avenue and have undergone barrier-free design transformation.
July 23, 1994, Beijing Daily, 1st edition
Beijing has also built an athletes' village, the Far South Building, for disabled athletes. It was the first building on the mainland to be built specifically for the disabled. The building has 2 floors underground and 23 floors above ground, which can accommodate 2400 people at the same time. The Far South Building became the largest barrier-free building in The country at that time. The lobby on the first and second floors of the building has barrier-free ramps, each elevator can enter 4 wheelchairs and has Braille touch keys, toilets and showers in the bathroom are equipped with handrails, and the bedroom bedside is equipped with a call system. The athletes' village is equipped with more than 2,700 staff and service personnel, and the ratio of athletes to athletes is more than 1:1. (Beijing Daily, July 23, 1994, 1st edition, "Far South Games Athletes' Village Far South Building Completed and Handed Over")
On September 4, 1994, at the opening ceremony of the 6th "Far South" Games held in Beijing, the Chinese sports delegation for the disabled entered. Chen Xiaoying/Photo
The Sixth "Far South" Games became the largest sports festival for the disabled in the region, the largest number of participating countries and regions, the largest number of athletes and the highest level up to that time. The Games featured a 98-time event that surpassed 65 world records. The Chinese delegation won the gold medal and the first medal. 30,000 young volunteers and more than 100,000 spectators enthusiastically devoted themselves, and more than 1,400 Chinese and foreign disabled athletes displayed their special sports style and spirit of self-improvement, leaving a magnificent chapter in the sports history of the Far South.
In September 1994, the 6th "Far South" Games was held in Beijing.
Layout: September 11, 1994, Beijing Daily, page 1
(4) The two-level physical training base for the disabled was completed in Beijing
Although Beijing has successively set up a number of sports teams for the disabled, their training conditions are actually quite difficult. For example, the earliest wheelchair basketball men's team, at the beginning of its establishment, did not have a special training venue, had to go to the Xiannongtan Stadium to use people's noon rest time for training.
This situation has changed dramatically with the preparations for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.
On July 25, 2007, the China Comprehensive Sports Training Base for the Disabled was officially inaugurated in Shayu, Shunyi, which is the first special sports training base for the disabled in mainland China.
July 26, 2007, Beijing Daily, 5th page
Because all of them are designed in accordance with the Settings of paralympic projects and the functional needs of special buildings for the disabled, the base can meet all the Paralympic competition and training requirements including athletics, football, swimming, blind gateball, cycling, table tennis, basketball, fencing, judo, weightlifting and other sports, and the voice prompt system, barrier-free ramps, elevators for the disabled, safety grab bars, stair handrails, blind lanes, anti-collision plates, wheelchair athletes' special showers and other facilities can be seen everywhere, reflecting the humanized design idea. (Beijing Daily, July 26, 2007, 5th edition, "Sports Training Base for the Disabled Completed")
Soon after, the city's first city-wide sports training center for the disabled in Daxing District was put into use. The Municipal Sports Training Center for the Disabled integrates sports training and vocational training, and is divided into sports venue area and training area. The sports venue area includes a ball training hall, tennis court, track and field field, bowling hall, squash hall, shooting hall and other training venues. The centre has 400 beds and a restaurant for athletes to eat and live. (Beijing Daily, June 24, 2007, 2nd edition, "The Municipal Sports Training Center for the Disabled is about to be completed")
(5) Establishment of ice and snow sports teams for the disabled
The Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games is undoubtedly a sporting event for the disabled. At the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games, Craven, then President of the International Paralympic Committee, delivered a speech. He said that the opening ceremony of the Beijing Paralympic Games is beautiful, the sports venues are flawless, the sports performances are breathtaking, the conditions in the Paralympic Village are unprecedented, the HIGH-definition television broadcast is amazing, the volunteers are outstanding, and thousands of Paralympic sports fans have emerged in China and around the world, which is the greatest Paralympic Games in history.
In the beijing 2008 Paralympic Games blind goalball women's preliminary round, the Chinese team defeated Germany 3-0. The picture shows Chen Fengqing, the No. 3 member of the Chinese team, flying to save during the game. Sun Yi/Photo
The holding of the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing has injected great vitality into the development of sports for the disabled in Beijing, and more and more disabled people have joined the sports. The 9th Beijing Municipal Games for the Disabled, held in 2014, for the first time integrated mass sports into competitive sports. There are five major competitions in the competition, of which mass sports account for three. Sports for the disabled have long been more than just sports competitions, but have become an important helper to help the disabled recover physically and mentally and integrate into society. Under the joint promotion of the Municipal Disabled Persons' Federation and the Municipal Sports Bureau, the city has also trained thousands of social sports instructors for the disabled, guided the disabled to carry out cultural and sports activities at the grass-roots level, and helped the severely disabled people who usually cannot go out to get fitness and rehabilitation services.
Sports for the disabled in Beijing have also begun to inject ice and snow.
In July 2014, the city established its first wheelchair curling team. (Beijing Daily, September 28, 2014, page 6, "The city forms the first wheelchair curling team")
September 28, 2014, Beijing Daily, page 6
At the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Paralympic Games, two members of the Beijing team were selected for the Chinese wheelchair curling team and served as the main force, making outstanding contributions to the Chinese wheelchair curling team to achieve the "zero breakthrough" of China's gold medal in the Winter Paralympic Games. (Beijing Daily, March 18, 2018, 8th edition, "Pyeongchang Winter Paralympic Chinese Wheelchair Curling Team Wins Championship")
March 18, 2018, Beijing Daily, 8th page
As of June 2018, the Beijing team has completed all six events of the Winter Paralympic Games, including two ice sports - wheelchair curling and Paralympic ice hockey, and four snow sports - cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, snowboarding and biathlon. (Beijing Daily, March 9, 2015, 6th edition, "The City Will Prepare for the Disabled Ice and Snow Games")
On March 4, a winter sports festival for the disabled will open. What the sports competition for the disabled shows us is not only the charm of sports competition, but also the respect for the body and the understanding of the meaning of life.
Source: Beijing News Group Graphic Database, Beijing Evening New Vision, Xinhua News Agency