China has announced a delegation of 500 members, including 312 athletes, to participate in the fifth Asian Para Games set to take place from October 18 to 24 in Nagoya, Aichi prefecture, Japan. The announcement was made during a launch ceremony held in Beijing on Saturday and organized by the China Disabled Persons’ Federation.

This marks China’s largest athlete delegation to an Asian Para Games held outside the country. The Chinese team will compete across 17 sports and 335 events, contributing to a broader competition that features 18 sports and 502 events with participation expected from more than 3,000 athletes representing 45 countries and regions.

The Chinese athletes, with an average age of 28.8 years, consist of 146 men and 166 women hailing from 25 provincial-level regions and 13 ethnic groups. Among them, the youngest competitor is 16, while the oldest is 50. The delegation is composed entirely of amateur athletes drawn from a wide array of backgrounds, including factory workers, students, office employees, and freelancers.

Cui Jian, deputy head of the General Administration of Sport of China, spoke at the ceremony, encouraging the athletes to aim for strong performances and to serve as sources of inspiration for people with disabilities by exemplifying perseverance. Cheng Kai, head of the Chinese delegation and chairman of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, emphasized that the Games would not only test athletic abilities but also foster people-to-people exchanges and strengthen friendship throughout Asia.

Among the athletes, para powerlifting competitor Tan Yujiao highlighted her dual ambitions at the Games. She will participate in the women’s 73-kilogram individual event as well as the mixed team competition, which is debuting at the Asian Para Games. Tan expressed her aspiration to help China secure the first gold medal in the mixed team event and to achieve her fourth consecutive Asian Para Games title in the individual category. She noted that her rigorous training aimed to showcase the competitive strength, determination, and fighting spirit of Chinese athletes.

Huang Jianong, coach of China’s men’s wheelchair basketball team, said that the team would mainly consist of younger players who have undergone extensive training and are motivated ahead of the competition. He identified a challenge in promoting wheelchair basketball more broadly in China, citing the limited number of players in the sport. Huang expressed the hope that more individuals with disabilities would take up wheelchair basketball in the future.