Written/Photographer: He Yi (Photographer of Peninsula Metropolis Daily)
In the ice rink, under the loud shouts of the coach, the players participating in the Chinese Paralympic Ice Hockey Training Team are completing training items such as tactical coordination, shooting and saving. Most of them have lower limb disabilities and have previously practiced athletics, such as track and field, cycling, and taekwondo. The players train on the ice for several hours every day. They sit on a specially made sled, and use the hockey stick in their hand to move the sled to change positions.
Members of the Paralympic ice hockey team gathered to celebrate with their 2020 trophies going abroad on the railing.
In the ice hockey final of the 2021 National Paralympic Games, players from both sides faced off fiercely in the game.
Ice hockey is the official event of the Winter Paralympic Games. It is confrontational and spectator-friendly. It is an ice sport that combines speed, skill and wisdom. In 2015, my country held the Paralympic ice hockey training camp for the first time. It started late but made rapid progress. After years of development, the Paralympic ice hockey project has grown into a scale of 6 stable teams across the country to carry out year-round training. For the upcoming Beijing Winter Paralympics, ice hockey is one of the two collective events that the national Paralympic team will participate in. In the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics which ended in 2018, the Chinese wheelchair curling team won the gold medal historically, which greatly inspired all the athletes of the Paralympic ice hockey team. In the World Paralympic Ice Hockey (Group C) Championship held in 2018, the Paralympic ice hockey team, which was only established for more than a year at that time, successfully advanced to the Paralympic Ice Hockey (Group B) World Championship with a complete victory record. The German team won the third place.
Between games, substituted players doused their faces with water to reduce the temperature.
The players train in the gym.
About these Paralympic hockey players I stumbled across during an outdoor workout a few years ago. After chatting and learning that they were gathered in Qingdao to prepare for the ice hockey competition in the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics, I immediately came up with the idea of interviewing and taking special photos. Through communication with the relevant departments of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, I have come to the ice rink for interviews and filming many times. I was shocked to see the players riding the special sleds and galloping back and forth on the ice rink. After fierce confrontation on the ice rink, they kept falling down, then quickly got up and returned to training. This is a kind of What a tenacious sportsmanship. Although they are disabled, their sports dreams are still alive. For the honor of the country and the pursuit of their dreams, they train and compete day after day.
Players doing stretches on the mat.
A Paralympic ice hockey team training intensively on the ice.
Before heading to Beijing for the training camp, the Paralympic ice hockey team had their last training session in Qingdao.
In my opinion, a good image can reflect the times and will become an eternal memory. In the context of the global public’s attention to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics, the pictures and details of these Paralympic ice hockey players’ hard work and progress not only show the Olympic spirit, but also reflect the common pursuit of Chinese athletes and global athletes. Good communication does not need to be done deliberately, because those real images that can shock people’s hearts are the easiest to move people.
“Guangming Daily” (11th edition on January 23, 2022)
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责编：孙宗鹤 ]