Fuente: © Beijing 2008
http://en.beijing-2008.org/

BEIJING 2008: China to compete in 20 sports of Beijing Paralympics

/noticias.info/ China will take part in all 20 sports of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, an official announced in Beijing on Wednesday.

Zhao Sujing, deputy director of the Sports Department under China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF) said despite thriving sports activities for the disabled persons, China needs to make advanced apparatus for the disabled athletes and improve training methods to face the challenge in international events.

Summing up China's achievements, Zhao told a press conference that since 1984, it has participated in six summer Paralympic Games, two winter Paralympic Games, seven FESPIC Games (Federation of Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled) and many other international events, with excellent achievements

During the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, the Chinese delegation won 141 medals, including 63 golds, 46 silvers and 32 bronzes, topping the final medal tally among 75 participating nations. In the just-ended 9th FESPIC Games, the Chinese athletes won 199 golds, 72 silvers and 36 bronzes.

Sports activities for people with disabilities were also widely held throughout the country, involving 1.5 million disabled in sports competitions at provincial, city and county levels in recent years. With the Beijing Paralympic Games only less than two years away, China is actively preparing for the event in terms of athlete selection and training.

Giving an analysis to the Athens event, Zhao said there is an imbalance in China's performance, as it competed only in 11 out of the 19 sports in the Athens Paralympic Games, an evidence that it still lags behind in the sports "with higher content of technology" where European and American athletes excel.

"We need to improve training methods and upgrade the sport apparatus for the disabled athletes as our delegation will participate in all the 20 sports in the 2008 event," which runs from September 6-17, right after the August 8-24 Olympic Summer Games. notas_de_prensa_archivo