On August 29th, 2024, the Paris Paralympics officially opened. Among the 284 Chinese athletes competing, 32 are from Guangdong. They will compete in 11 sports and 47 events, including athletics, swimming, cycling, table tennis, badminton, weightlifting, archery, boccia, blind judo, blind football, and wheelchair basketball.

First, nine female athletes from Guangdong will compete in wheelchair basketball, representing about half of China's national team. Lin Suiling, who has frequently served as the national team captain and was a torchbearer of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, Zhang Xuemei, the flag bearer at the closing ceremony of theTokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games, and Huang Xiaolian, the flag bearer at the opening ceremony of Hangzhou Asian Para Games, are key players. In Tokyo Paralympics, China's women's wheelchair basketball team won silver, the best result in Paralympic history.

In table tennis, Guangdong's Huang Wenjuan, Pan Jiamin, and Xiong Guiyan will compete. Xiong, at 48, is the oldest athlete in the Chinese delegation this year, marking her third Paralympics. The youngest, Huang Wenjuan, born after 2000, won gold at the Tokyo Paralympics at age 16, with Pan Jiamin earning silver.

In Boccia, Guangdong's Zheng Yuansen, Lan Zhijian, and Lin Ximei are competing.Boccia is a sport in which Guangdong excels. The national boccia training base is located in Guangzhou, and the national team coach, Tan Weilin, is from Guangdong. Zheng, at 35, is participating in his fourth Paralympics, making him the most experienced Paralympic athlete from Guangdong.

In athletics, Guangdong's veteran athletes Zhou Guohua, Deng Peicheng, and Yang Yifei are competing. Zhou, a 34-year-old blind athlete, is a two-time gold medalist in the London and Rio Paralympics and will again partner with guide runner Jia Dengpu. Deng won gold in Tokyo, while Yang earned silver in Rio and gold in Hangzhou.

In blind football, Zhang Jiabin and Xu Guansheng from Zhanjiang, Guangdong, are seasoned players. Zhang is the captain of China's blind football team, and Xu, his fellow hometown player, was the youngest to join the national team at 16.

In cycling, five cyclists from Guangdong are competing. Veteran Chen Jianxin, 38, won gold in Tokyo, while Wang Xiaomei and Sun Bianbian claimed silver in Tokyo. Liang Weicong and Liu Qiangli are gold medalists from the Hangzhou Asian Para Games.

In archery, Chen Minyi and Lin Yueshan, two female archers from Guangdong, are competing. Both won gold at the Tokyo Paralympics. In badminton, Guangdong's Mai Jianpeng and Yang Jianyuan are competing. Mai, a gold medalist in the Tokyo Paralympics, is competing in his second Paralympics, while Yang is making his debut. In swimming, 25-year-old Huang Xianquan from Guangdongis competing, who was a gold medalist from the Hangzhou Asian Para Games. In blind judo, Li Liqing, a female judoka from Foshan, Guangdong, is competing. She won gold in Rio. In weightlifting, 31-year-old Ye Jixiong from Guangdong is competing, having won silver in the men's 88 kg category at the Tokyo Paralympics.

Beyond the competition, the Paralympics offer many moments of inspiration. Regardless of medal wins, just competing on the global stage makes these athletes champions in their own right. Let's cheer them on!

广东32名残疾人运动员逐梦巴黎，他们是谁？

北京时间8月29日凌晨，2024年巴黎残奥会正式开幕。这届残奥会，中国有284名运动员参赛，其中有32名运动员来自广东。他们分别参加田径、游泳、自行车、乒乓球、羽毛球、举重、射箭、硬地滚球、盲人柔道、盲人足球、轮椅篮球等11个大项47个小项。

首先，有9位女性运动员将参加巴黎残奥会“轮椅篮球”项目比赛。在中国女子轮椅篮球队中，广东的队员可以说是占据了半壁江山。林穗玲多次担任国家队队长，她曾是北京冬残奥会火炬手之一。张雪梅曾担任东京残奥会闭幕式中国代表团旗手。黄晓连在杭州亚残运会开幕式担任中国代表团旗手。在东京残奥会，中国女子轮椅篮球队获得亚军，取得了残奥会历史上最佳战绩。

乒乓球项目，来自广东的黄文娟、潘嘉敏、熊桂艳三名女性队员出战。熊桂艳今年48岁，是这届残奥会中国体育代表团中年龄最大的一位运动员，这是她第三次参加残奥会。“00后”小将黄文娟在16岁首次参加残奥会就夺得了东京残奥会冠军，当时获得亚军的是队友潘嘉敏。

硬地滚球项目，郑远森、蓝智坚、林细妹3名广东队员出战。硬地滚球项目是广东的优势项目，硬地滚球国家队的训练基地就设在广州，国家队教练谭巍麟也是广东人。3位选手中，35岁的郑远森迎来了自己的第四次奥运之旅，也成为广东参加奥运会次数最多的运动员。

田径项目，来自广东的周国华、邓培程、杨义飞三位“老将”出战。34岁的盲人姑娘周国华是伦敦残奥会、里约残奥会两届奥运会的冠军。这次她将继续和自己的老搭档、领跑员贾登璞共同站上巴黎的跑道。邓培程曾获得东京残奥会冠军，杨义飞曾获里约残奥会亚军、杭州亚残运会冠军。

盲人足球队，来自广东湛江的张家彬、许观生两位盲足“老将”出征。张家彬是中国盲人男足队队长，许观生和他是老乡，16岁便入选国家盲人足球队，是最年轻的国脚。

自行车项目，广东共有5位运动员出战。38岁的老将陈健新是东京残奥会金牌选手。王小梅和孙变变曾获东京残奥会亚军。梁伟聪、刘强利都是杭州亚残运会冠军。

射箭项目，广东2位女性运动员出战，分别是陈敏仪和林月珊。她们都曾在东京残奥会夺得冠军。羽毛球项目，来自广东的麦建朋、杨健远出战，麦建朋曾夺得东京残奥会冠军，这是他第二次征战残奥会，杨建远则是首次登上残奥会舞台。游泳项目，来自广东的25岁选手黄显全出战，他曾获得杭州亚残运会冠军。盲人柔道项目，来自广东佛山的女性运动员李丽青出战，她曾在里约残奥会夺冠。举重项目，31岁的广东选手叶继雄出战，他曾在东京残奥会男子88公斤级决赛中夺得银牌。

相比于竞技，人们还常常在残奥会的舞台收获许多感动。无论是否拿到奖牌，站在奥运会这个世界舞台上，他们就已经是自己人生的冠军。为他们喝彩加油！

文 | 记者柳卓楠
翻译丨赵凡
英文审校丨邹晓华

Guangdong's 32 paralympic athletes chasing dreams in Paris