BEIJING — As Li Xiang strapped himself into a seat mounted atop a single ski and raced down the snowy slope, he reveled in the feeling of freedom that had become all too rare after a car accident required him to use a wheelchair as a child. Li, a 24-year-old Alpine skier competing for China in the Paralympic Winter Games, skis to win. But to him, it is also a way to escape the discrimination that he says he often encounters as a person with disabilities in China. “Talking about…
Tag: Disabilities
China Becomes a Paralympic Sled Hockey Power Behind Russian Coach
BEIJING — All the Russian athletes were kicked out of the Paralympics before the Games began last week, but there is still a Russian here, and he has a chance to win a medal. Nikolay Sharshukov, the little-known Russian coach of China’s national para ice hockey team, has transformed the fledgling squad into a contender in less than five years on the job, molding it in the image of the old Soviet hockey powerhouses. Players like Shen Yifeng, the leading scorer in the tournament, crisscross in front of teammates as…