Brotherly bond inspires Chinese clean sweep

Supporting each other like brothers is what makes China's men's Paralympic snowboard team so strong, according to the athletes themselves, who made a clean sweep of the snowboard men's cross SB-UL medals at the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics on Monday.

"The team members are like real brothers who take care of each other in life and snowboarding. It's what makes us strong," said Ji Lijia, who took gold at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou.

The 19-year-old took up the sport in 2016 simply because it was "cool". "I'm going to keep on snowboarding because it has made me a completely different person. Actually, the sport is for everyone because it can make people open-minded and passionate," he said.

Ji said he became extremely shy after the loss of his left hand in an accident when he was a child. He used to wear long-sleeve clothing even in the summer to cover his disability.

"After taking up snowboarding, I started to see how confident Paralympic athletes of other countries were. Then I realized that I need to trust and love myself. Snowboarding has helped me step out of the darkness and find confidence again," he said.

Ji's six years of effort finally paid off on Monday. "It's so great to win glory for my motherland, which takes great care of people with disabilities," he added. "By watching us, I hope all people with disabilities in China can feel the passion of sports and then take that passion into life."

In an all-Chinese big final, the four Paralympic debutants fought it out together. In the middle of the race, 17-year-old Zhang Yiqi, who was in third, lost his balance and fell, knocking down Zhu Yonggang who was close behind.

Ji then beat Wang Pengyao, 21, to clinch gold. Zhu, 19, took bronze.

"It was amazing to compete with my teammates in the big final. We all tried our best in the competitions today. My appreciation goes to my coaches for their instructions and team leaders for their care. They helped me make progress step by step," said Wang.

Wang believes the brotherly bond among the men's team will be even stronger after the Winter Paralympics.

"Our disabilities are different so we always help each other out to overcome difficulties together. When someone who only has one hand needs to wax his snowboard, we are all there to help. It's a natural thing," Wang said.

Fellow Chinese rider Jiang Zihao finished seventh in the small final.

The other three Paralympic snowboard cross gold medals up for grabs on Monday went to Cecile Hernandez of France in the women's SB-LL2, Tyler Turner of Canada in the men's SB-LL1, and Finland's Matti Suur-Hamari in the men's SB-LL2.

Chinese rider Wu Zhongwei took bronze in the men's SB-LL1.