Team People's Republic of China - Profile

The People's Republic of China has finished top of the medal table at the past four editions of the Paralympic Games. The NPC's rise has been swift as Chinese athletes, who have excelled particularly in swimming, table tennis, and athletics at the Paralympic Games, did not compete until 1984.

Swimmer Xu Qing made his Paralympic debut at age 12 at the 2004 Games in Athens, and he has appeared at each Paralympics since then. He won three gold medals and one bronze medal in front of a home crowd at Beijing 2008, and then secured gold in all four events he entered four years later in London. He claimed a further three gold medals at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro to ensure his spot as one of the most successful Chinese Paralympic athletes. Other Chinese swimmers with exceptional records at the Games include Du Jian Ping with nine gold medals in the pool from 2004 to 2012, and Huang Wenpan who won five gold medals in freestyle, breaststroke, and individual medley events at Rio 2016.

The People's Republic of China's first won gold in athletics in 1984, with long jumpers Ping Yali and Zhao Jihong claiming victory in the women's B2 and B3 events, respectively. Chinese athletes to stand out in the sport since then include Sun Haitao, who won six gold medals across the shot put, discus, and javelin disciplines between 1996 and 2004. His high point at the Games perhaps came in 1996 in Atlanta, where he swept the gold medals in the F12 category. T53 sprinter Huang Lisha claimed three gold medals in 2008, two more in 2012 and her sixth overall at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, while Guo Wei secured three gold medals in men's field events [shot put, javelin, long jump] in 2004 and another three [shot put, javelin, discus] four years later in Beijing.

Zhang Xiaoling ranks as one of the NPC's most successful table tennis players. She won her first gold medal in 1988 in Seoul, and then claimed another eight in the team, singles, and open classes between 1992 and 2004.

Wheelchair fencers Rong Jing and Zhou Jing Jing both won three gold medals at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Another fencing gold medallist in Brazil was Hu Doa Liang, who was competing at his fourth edition of Games. He had also claimed gold in 2004, 2008, and 2012, and his title in Rio brought his overall total to six.