Curling, leaning over, putting... The red curling slowly rotated and slid on the "Ice Cube" track of the National Aquatics Center, and the score was fixed at 8:3, and the Chinese team won! On the 12th, in the wheelchair curling final of the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games, the Chinese team defeated the Swedish team and successfully defended the title!
On March 12, China's Chen Jianxin, Yan Zhuo, Zhang Mingming and Wang Haitao (from left to right) celebrated their victory. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ga
It was a pinnacle showdown, and both sides knew each other well. The Chinese team was the champion of the last Pyeongchang Winter Paralympic Games; at the 2021 World Championships, the Chinese team defeated Sweden in the final. In the round robin tournament of this Winter Paralympic Games, the Chinese team once lost to the opponent 1:5.
The Chinese players played steadily in the match on the same day, and the Chinese team scored 3 points in the seventh set to take an 8-3 lead, forcing sweden to concede defeat in advance.
On March 12, Yue Qingshuang, coach of the Chinese wheelchair curling team, was after the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lan Hongguang
After the game, "Singing the Motherland" sounded on the spot. Coach Yue Qingshuang shed tears of excitement, she ran into the arena and hugged the team members one by one. In the award ceremony, the team members pointed to the national flag on their chests and wore gold medals for each other, the "Ice Cube" field sounded the Chinese national anthem for the first time, and the five-star red flag was raised on the field.
Looking back at this Beijing Winter Paralympic Games, the Chinese wheelchair curling team can be said to be "low open and high walk", losing to Canada and Sweden in the first two games of the round robin tournament, and losing two consecutive games in the opening round. Since then, they have readjusted their form and tactics, winning ten consecutive victories and successfully defending their titles.
At the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Paralympic Games, the Chinese wheelchair curling team won the first gold in the history of the Chinese Winter Paralympic Games, won the 2019 World Championships in one fell swoop, and won the gold medal again at the World Championships held at the "Ice Cube" in October 2021.
"The PyeongChang Winter Paralympics were different from this one, when we didn't have a championship and we had the mentality of fighting for each other. This time it was a guard, but we didn't think much about it, and if we did a good job, the result would not be bad. This gold medal also shows that we have done a good job in the process. Captain Wang Haitao said.
On March 17, 2018, in the wheelchair curling final of the Pyeongchang Winter Paralympic Games, the Chinese team won the gold medal with a 6-5 victory over Norway, achieving a breakthrough of zero gold medals for the Chinese delegation at the Winter Paralympic Games. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xia Fang
Today's results are inseparable from the 15 years of perseverance of this team.
Back in 2007, when the Chinese wheelchair curling team had just been established, Wang Haitao was an early member of the team. However, at that time, the development of wheelchair curling in China was still in a "blank period". According to Wang Haitao, the training conditions were very difficult at that time, and it was often necessary to train in the "other people's home" figure skating and speed skating venues. "At that time, we (the players) lived on the fifth floor, there was no elevator, and due to the inconvenience of mobility, every day the coach had to carry us up and down the stairs." Wang Haitao said.
Compared with able-bodied people, it is more difficult for people with disabilities to engage in sports and to make more efforts. Cold ice, sedentary, nearly 40 pounds of curling, hours of training every day... These are real difficulties for wheelchair curlers.
On December 24, 2020, the national wheelchair curling team prepared for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Chenlin
During the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games cycle, the Chinese wheelchair curling team only rests for more than a week a year. "Pyeongchang's victory is a thing of the past, and it's been a run to Beijing from scratch." In the curling hall of the National Ice Sports Competition for the Disabled in Shunyi, Beijing, this slogan hangs high and is particularly eye-catching. The Chinese wheelchair curling team trains every day under the banner "under the gaze".
From not knowing how to train at the beginning of the establishment of the team, to finding out the training method that suits them; from rubbing the field training, to having a professional curling field... As the team continued to grow, the honorary division was in better shape.
Since wheelchair curling cannot be brushed with ice, curling thrown by athletes cannot artificially affect the travel route and speed. However, on the track where the Chinese team is located, there are always full of breath "Hurry", "Whoa (stop brushing ice)" and other command ice brushing words, as well as "come", "come", "come again" and "good ball" These people communicate with people, people and curling. Others jokingly call these shouts "sonic brushing ice."
Chinese players Zhang Mingming, Yan Zhuo and Wang Haitao (from left to right) at the Wheelchair Curling Gold Medal at the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games on March 12. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lan Hongguang
Sound waves obviously don't have a substantial impact on curling, but China's fourth baseman Wang Haitao and third baseman Chen Jianxin are often passionate, shouting command words after their own throws. At the key node, yan zhuo and zhang liangming, the first base, will also output sound waves with full force.
Wang Haitao said that a lot of shouting is involuntarily issued, which is not only a special way of communication in the team, they also hope to communicate with curling through "sound waves", which is not only a kind of telepathy, but also can play a role in motivating teammates.
Chen Jianxin, a "post-90s" athlete on the team, is the youngest member of this year's Chinese wheelchair curling team. In 2014, he switched from wheelchair fencing to wheelchair curling. "After my car accident, I once lost hope of living, wheelchair curling gave me more honor and faith in living, making me full of hope for life." Chen Jianxin said.
The achievements and great progress of Wheelchair Curling in China also reflect the development of Sports for the Disabled in China. The Beijing Winter Paralympic Games is China's sixth participation in the Winter Paralympic Games, and it is also the largest delegation, the largest number of athletes and the most complete number of participating events since China participated in the Winter Paralympic Games. They showed the world the spirit of China's disabled people's unremitting self-improvement in the new era and the development achievements of China's winter Paralympic movement.
Written by Xinhua News Agency