Rocky road to success

The team assembled 19 athletes last July, and the five-person team was not selected until early February. "The athletes who were not competing in Pyeongchang but were part of the team also trained really hard," says Yue.

Chen, 26, who had a traffic accident at the age of 18, started wheelchair curling four years ago. The youngest curler of Team China is currently the deputy skipper of the team.

In the fifth end, Chen played a nice takeout－a stone that hits another stone and removes it from play. His teammates shouted at the stone as the rock slid toward the target. "Hurry up! Hurry up!" said Wang Meng.

Of all the teams competing in the Paralympic Games, China's shouting was the loudest. It's a trait they picked up from the Olympic team during training and is meant to encourage the sweepers.

"There is no sweeping in wheelchair curling, but the technique isn't as simple as it looks. The athletes have to think it through before they take a shot, and account for all the possible lines and errors."

"So they have the habit of shouting when the stone looks it's heading in the right direction, it's like they are 'sweeping it by thought'. It also improves morale," says Li.

In the seventh end, Wang Haitao missed a three score again with his last stone, like the first end, and only scored two. His teammates all came together to cheer him up before the next end.

After eight seesaw ends, China and Norway tied at 5-5, which led to an extra tiebreaker to decide the winner.

After Chen Jianxin's last stone landed almost bang in the center of the house, Norwegian skipper Rune Lorentsen failed to knock out Chen's stone with the final shot of the match－h(huán)anding China the gold medal.

The win sent Team China into a frenzy, and saw the team members hug each other with tears in their eyes, while also beaming from ear to ear.

Kate Caithness, president of the World Curling Federation, presented the gold medals to Team China members.

Wang Haitao said after the match that he was too nervous during the final, and thanked his team for leading them to victory.

When Wang Haitao was asked about his mistake in the seventh end, Chen Jianxin came to his skipper's rescue, "We did that on purpose, it was part of our plan."

Wang Haitao was the flag bearer for the Chinese delegation during the closing ceremony of the Winter Paralympics. Two days after the final, the team flew back to Beijing and were greeted by a group from the Beijing National Aquatics Center, bearing flowers.

The aquatics center, or Water Cube, will be the venue for curling and wheelchair curling events during the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

Li and his team train three to four months each year. When the team is not training, Li and his athletes have to find their own ways of making a living. Liu Wei will continue working as a taxi driver and Wang Haitao will return home to his family's farm. Li used to deliver takeaways, and he even set up a street stall selling small goods.

Despite all the difficulties, Li still wants to continue coaching the team, "We've been through the most difficult days, and now we are getting better, so I will insist on competing in 2022."

The 2022 Paralympic Winter Games will take place in Beijing, which is also teammate Chen's hometown. "I want to be on the podium again in 2022 in my hometown, and maybe hear the national anthem again," he says.