Data map: On September 7, 2016, the opening ceremony of the 15th Summer Paralympic Games was held at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The picture shows the Chinese delegation entering the stadium. The fencing champion Rong Jing is the flag bearer.

  Chinanews client, Beijing, August 24 (Reporter Xing Rui) After the Tokyo Olympics, the Tokyo Paralympic Games will begin soon.

Since the first Paralympic Games in 1960, countless disabled athletes have interpreted the true meaning of self-improvement in the Paralympic arena.

Regarding the Paralympic Games, there are also some unknown "cold knowledge".

What are the unique sports for the Paralympics?

  Most of the sports of the Paralympic Games are consistent with the Olympic Games.

For example, football, basketball, volleyball, track and field, swimming and other popular sports will appear in the schedule of the Paralympics.

There are 22 major events and 539 minor events in the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Among them, badminton and taekwondo will appear in Tokyo for the first time as Paralympic events.

  In addition to these common sports, the Paralympics has two unique events: boccia and blind goalball.

Data map: Two athletes practice indoor boccia between games.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Yu Ruidong

  Boccia originated in ancient Greece. During the game, athletes must sit in a wheelchair and throw the ball. The score is calculated based on the distance between the thrown ball and the target ball. The player with the highest cumulative score wins.

The sport is divided into single, double and team competitions.

Each game of singles and doubles includes four quarters, and each game of team matches includes six quarters.

  Goalball for the blind is one of the most exciting team events in the Paralympic Games.

In the game, the two teams consist of 3 people in each team.

The athlete must roll the ball quickly into the opponent's goal to score, and the opponent tries to block the ball with his body.

After the attacking team throws the ball, the defender has 10 seconds to throw the ball back after one of the players touches the ball.

  This competition is designed for visually impaired athletes.

In order to prevent individual athletes from being at an advantage or disadvantage due to different degrees of visual impairment, all athletes must wear black eye masks on the court.

It is worth mentioning that the surface of the ball used in the game has openings and a bell is built into it. Players can judge the position of the ball by the sound of the bell.

Why the Paralympic Games have fewer major events but more gold medals?

  The just-concluded Tokyo Olympic Games set a total of 33 major events, while the Tokyo Paralympic Games had only 22 major events.

But in terms of the number of gold medals, the number of gold medals in the Tokyo Paralympic Games reached 539, while the number of gold medals in the Tokyo Olympics was only 339.

  The reason for this is that there are more minor events in the Paralympic Games than in the Olympic Games.

The handicapped competition involves the classification of sports events.

In order to ensure fairness and fairness in the competition, all events before the Paralympic Games will be graded according to the type and degree of disability of the athletes, and athletes with the same and similar disability types will be grouped together for competition.

This will happen, even for a small item, there will be multiple gold medals.

As a result, the overall number of gold medals in the Paralympics will be even greater.

Image source: Tokyo Paralympic Games website

What is the secret behind the medals of the Tokyo Paralympic Games?

  The Tokyo Paralympic Games medals are the same as the Tokyo Olympics. The metal needed to make the medals is extracted from small electronic devices such as scrap mobile phones.

But the medal design of the Paralympics is more intimate.

  The words "Tokyo 2020" on the front of the medal are presented in Braille.

In addition, in order to allow visually impaired athletes to distinguish between gold, silver and bronze medals by touch, the edges of the medals are also marked with circular pits.

The gold medal has one dimple, the silver medal has two dimples, and the bronze medal has three dimples.

Data map: Rio, Brazil, the first day of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, the T54 women's wheelchair 100m race, Chinese player Huang Lisha won the championship.

What are the "black technologies" in the Paralympics?

  "Innovation" is one of the concepts held by the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

When advanced science and technology are combined with the Paralympic Games, the movement of the disabled is also moving in a more professional and convenient direction.

  For example, in disabled badminton, wheelchairs used by wheelchair players are specially customized.

There is a backrest and extra casters at the back of the wheelchair, which allows the athlete to move freely, steer or lean back without tipping over.

This means that they will not have any worries when fighting back a smash or dealing with a multi-shot confrontation, and they can concentrate on the game.

  For another example, in archery competitions for the disabled, athletes are allowed to use assistive devices, including launching brackets.

The launching bracket is located on the back of the archer and is fixed to the upper body.

A "trigger" device or other device can be installed to assist archery players.

Data map: In the 2012 London Olympics track and field competition, Oscar Pistorius, who participated in the Olympic Games for the able-bodied for the first time, won the second place in the group in the 400-meter preliminaries and successfully advanced to the semi-finals.

How do amputees run?

  The track and field events of the Paralympics are geared towards athletes with physical, intellectual or visual disabilities.

Physical disabilities can be divided into types such as missing arms or missing legs.

  For athletes with leg amputations, they can wear prostheses during the competition.

This kind of prosthesis is very different from ordinary prostheses.

It is made of carbon fiber, strong and light, and looks similar to the hind legs of a cheetah. It is also called a "blade" prosthesis.

This kind of prosthesis does not have a heel, because sprinters generally rely on the soles of their feet to exert force.

But the bottom of the prosthesis has nails, which can grip the ground like a track shoe.

How do blind athletes play football?

  Five-a-side blind football is also one of the highlights of the Paralympic Games.

Like the blind goal ball mentioned above, athletes wear blindfolds during the game, and the game ball also has a built-in bell.

These are for players to be able to judge the position of the ball by sound.

In addition, a guide will stand behind the opponent's goal to provide guidance to the players.

The facilitator can use a pre-agreed slogan, or in the penalty kick, use a tool to knock on the post to transmit information.

  In addition, in order to ensure the safety of players, athletes must speak "voy" or similar language when moving, tackling or looking for the opponent.

Since the information of this game is all transmitted by voice, this also requires the audience to keep quiet during the game until the ball flies into the goal.

Data map: On August 19, the first group of members of the Chinese sports delegation for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games set off for Tokyo.

Image source: China Disabled Persons' Federation

Which Chinese "star players" are there in Tokyo

  On this trip to Tokyo, the Chinese delegation sent a total of 251 athletes, including well-known veterans who have participated in the Paralympic Games for many times and the "post-00s" who stepped on the Paralympic stage for the first time.

  Sitting volleyball player Tang Xuemei will start her third Olympic trip.

In the Wenchuan earthquake, Tang Xuemei lost her left calf. It was volleyball that took her out of the haze of life.

In 2012, she participated in the Paralympic Games for the first time with the team and won the first Olympic gold medal in her life.

This time, Tang Xuemei and his teammates are determined to regain the championship lost in the Rio Olympics.

  As an absolute powerhouse in the women's 67 kg class, Tan Yujiao hopes that she can successfully defend her title in Tokyo.

At the London Paralympic Games, Tan Yujiao won a silver medal; four years later in Rio, Tan Yujiao won the gold medal in one fell swoop and broke the world record.

Today, Tan Yujiao is 31 years old, and she is still eager to achieve a breakthrough in the Tokyo arena.

  Only 17-year-old badminton player Liu Yutong will compete in women's singles and women's doubles.

Although young, Liu Yutong has already gained fame in the international Paralympic badminton circle.

In the 2017 World Championships, she won her first World Championships, and at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Paralympic Games, she won gold medals in women's singles and mixed doubles.

A year later, Liu Yutong made persistent efforts. At the World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, she won two gold medals in singles and doubles.

  It is worth mentioning that all the athletes participating in the Paralympic Games this time are amateurs, and their professions include workers, farmers, students, civil servants, employees, and freelancers.

The average age of the athletes is 27.5 years, the oldest is 56 years old, and the youngest is only 16 years old.

Data map: On August 19, the first group of members of the Chinese sports delegation for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games set off for Tokyo.

Image source: China Disabled Persons' Federation

Which delegation is the biggest winner?

  Since the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, the Chinese delegation has occupied the top position in the gold medal list in all previous Paralympic Games.

The Chinese delegation won 63 gold at the Athens Paralympic Games, 89 gold at the Beijing Paralympic Games, 95 gold at the London Paralympic Games, and 107 gold at the Rio Paralympic Games.

  On this trip to Tokyo, the total number of the Chinese delegation is 437, including 251 athletes. They will participate in 20 major events and 341 minor events including archery, track and field, and swimming.

Looking forward to the Chinese Paralympic athletes will make greater achievements.

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