Chinese delegation ready for Rio Paralympics

The Chinese delegation, which features nearly 500 people including athletes, coaches and officials, has been well accommodated at the Rio Paralympic Village, a team official said on Saturday.

"Everyone is happy at the village and we are all looking forward to the Games. It's been a smooth process moving in," said Team China administration assistant Huang Ying.

Much of the Chinese team stay in one building at the village, already decorated from top to bottom with Chinese national flags.

Sitting volleyball player Lyu Hongqin is a star of the team that won the gold at the London Paralympics. "We've been here (in Rio) a few days already and it's good to move in," she said. "The services have been good, we're happy and everything is fine."

"We were champions in 2012 and I hope we can do it again. There will be lots of television coverage back home, and I know many people are expecting us to win again."

Paralympic swimmer, seven-gold medal winner Xu Qing will participate in his fourth Paralympics. "After long-time flight, I feel a bit tired. But I'm still excited for my fourth Paralympics. I will spare no efforts for good results," he said.

During the Rio Games, inconvenient cases were reported at the Olympic Village, such as the blocked toilet, leaking pipes, voltage instability. The Rio organizing committee has tried its best to fix all of them, but some of them still exist now.

According to the Chinese wheelchair racing team, their toilets were sometimes blocked since moving in, but now the problem has been solved.

Wheelchair athletes need chairs when taking bath, but the organizing committee didn't provide them in advance. After receiving the demand from the Chinese delegation, they quickly brought the chairs.

After the conclusion of the Olympic Games on August 21, a series of changes have been made to meet the needs of the Paralympic athletes at the village.

All the buildings have units adapted for people with an impairment or with reduced mobility. The doors are wider, corridors are larger, and the lifts have room for two wheelchairs at a time.

In total, more than 9,000 people, including 2,000 volunteers, will be working at the village during the Paralympic Games.

The Chinese team, the largest ever the country has sent to a Paralympics overseas, has a total of 308 athletes. Among them are 161 men and 147 women, who will participate in 328 events from 17 sports, also setting a record for China.

At the London Paralympics, China won 95 gold medals and 231 medals in total. The Asian country topped the medals table at the last three Paralympic Games.

Sourcce : XINHUA