The Paris Olympics may have concluded with excitement, but for Paralympians, the Games are just beginning. A total of 284 Chinese athletes will take part in the Paralympic Games, and among them 25 are from Shanghai. They will compete in wheelchair fencing, sitting volleyball, and athletics.  

Here are the profiles of some of the Shanghai athletes set to participate in the Paris Paralympic Games. 

Zhang Liangmin, thrower

Zhang Liangmin. [Photo/VCG]

Zhang Liangmin will be taking part in her fifth Olympic Games. The 38-year-old is the current world record holder of the women's discus throw F11-class. She has won three Olympic gold medals in the previous four Games.

Zhang was born with visual impairment. She was recruited by the Shanghai Disabled Persons' Sport Training Center in 2001, where she began her professional training. 

Gao Fang, wheelchair racing 

Gao Fang. [Photo/VCG]

Gao Fang was the gold medalist in the women's wheelchair 100m T53 in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. Born in 1988, Gao was crippled by polio at the age of one and a half. 

At the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships, she broke the championship record and took first place in the Women's 100m T53. In 2021, she was awarded the National May 1 Labor Medal. 

Gu Haiyan, fencing

Gu Haiyan. [Photo/VCG]

Gu Haiyan won the gold medals in women's team foil and individual foil Category-A at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Born in 1999, Gu lost her left leg after a road accident at the age of nine. She joined the Sichuan Provincial Wheelchair Fencing Team in 2014, and won the bronze medal in the women's individual foil category-A at the 9th National Disabled Persons' Games the next year. She later joined the Shanghai Wheelchair Fencing Team. 

Li Ting, sitting volleyball

Li Ting (No 6 in red). [Photo/Shanghai Observer]

Born in 1989, Li Ting experienced an accident during her childhood which left her unable to walk. She joined the national sitting volleyball team in 2013. In 2016, she attended the Rio Paralympic Games and won a silver medal with her teammates. 

The 35-year-old setter is now a veteran of the team. She takes on a mentoring role with the younger players, sharing her valuable experience with them.  

Sources: "shanghaifabu" WeChat account, Shanghai Observer, cnwest.com, Shanghai Disabled Persons' Federation