“The last 300 meters were especially exhausting — my muscles were sore and stiff, and all I could hear was wind,” said Zhu Tianyu, the 14-year-old T12 visually impaired runner from Lianyungang, after the 1500-meter final at the 12th Jiangsu Provincial Games for Persons with Disabilities. “But the rope in my hand stayed steady. His rhythm never faltered, so I told myself: stay calm, keep up, don’t fall behind.”
The provincial games, which opened Nov. 2, produced 670 medals across all venues in their first two days, including 366 golds, Xinhua Daily reported. As of Nov. 3, the Lianyungang delegation led both the gold and overall medal tables with 72 golds, 38 silvers and 13 bronzes for 123 medals.
A rope under half a meter, two runners moving as one
On the afternoon of Nov. 2, Zhu raced the T12 women’s 1500 meters alongside her guide, Lao Ruixiang, holding a tether less than half a meter long. For a visually impaired athlete, the rope is both direction and confidence — the reason she can sprint flat out.
Lao focused entirely on the rope and their stride, using subtle tugs, changes in tempo and quiet verbal cues to steer Zhu around corners and manage her pacing. The hardest part of 1500 meters, he said, is staying in sync for the entire race — neither too fast nor too slow, every step matching her breathing and stride length.
That synchronization is built, not born. Months of repeated runs and endless rhythm drills created the smooth connection shown. “Running a personal best — all the hard work was worth it,” Lao said. Their stride frequency, cadence, foot placement and arm swing are now so aligned that from the side they look like a single runner. Zhu has already collected golds in the T12 women’s youth 400m, 800m and 1500m, and her sights are set on the National Games, Asian Games and Olympics.
One missing a left arm, one a right — together they form a complete racket
On Nov. 3, the Lianyungang pairing of Qin Silei and Liu Shiming won the men’s SU5 standing doubles badminton title. Both compete in the upper-limb disability category: Qin is missing his left arm, Liu his right. Rotations and lunging saves that come easily to other players cost them double the sweat.
Their skills have long complemented each other — Liu covers the backcourt with powerful attacks, Qin patrols the net. In a tense final, Liu told his partner mid-match to hold the net while he took the rear. Each played his role, leaning on years of partnership to turn away repeated opposition surges and take the gold.
“In doubles, our greatest strength is that we rely on each other, we are each other’s arms,” Qin said. Liu added that the grind of training and the pressure of competition feel far lighter when shared: this gold medal, he said, is proof of two athletes pushing forward side by side.
Third provincial title for 17-year-old Fan Yiwen
Also on Nov. 3, 17-year-old Fan Yiwen won the women’s standing open singles table tennis final with heavy forehand drives, adding another gold for Lianyungang. Fan, from Yishan town in Guanyun County, was left disabled at birth due to oxygen deprivation; at age three or four, muscle atrophy set into her right hand and right leg, leaving her weight mostly on her left leg.
In 2018, at age nine, she was recommended by the Guanyun County Disabled Persons’ Federation to try badminton, but a table tennis coach at the Nanjing Disabled Persons’ Sports and Culture Center selected her instead, and she moved to Nanjing for closed training. To build forehand power she lifted dumbbells rep by rep; to improve footwork she strapped sandbags of different weights to her legs and shuttled back and forth. Over eight years living away from home, returning only once or twice a year, she never considered quitting.
She joined the national team at the end of 2025 and has traveled abroad for ranking tournaments since March. This was her third provincial games — she won the women’s standing singles at the previous two as well. “I played well this time, and I’m very happy to win gold and bring honor to the delegation,” she said. Next she aims for international competition next year and a place at the Olympics.
Brothers Wang Dongze and Wang Qianrui take gold and silver
In the deaf youth boys’ singles table tennis event on the afternoon of Nov. 3, 12-year-old Wang Dongze took gold for Lianyungang, with his 9-year-old brother Wang Qianrui finishing second in the same division. Wang Dongze, a first-year middle school student, trains twice a week and has kept at it steadily to raise his level. “Winning gold makes me very happy,” he said. The brothers’ one-two finish added a family story to the day’s results.
Competition continues across Jiangsu venues
From the guide rope on the track to the complementary arms on the badminton court, from one teenager’s third provincial title to two brothers sharing a podium, the early days of the 12th Jiangsu Provincial Games for Persons with Disabilities have paired a fast-rising medal table with the human stories behind it. The competition continues across the province’s venues in the coming days, with the medal standings still in flux.
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