Four years ago in Beijing, China stunned the world by finishing atop the Winter Paralympics medal table with 61 medals, including 18 gold, a sharp rise from the 2018 PyeongChang Games in South Korea, where it secured only one.

As the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Paralympics open on March 6, China returns with a 70-athlete delegation competing across all six sports: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, snowboard, curling, and ice hockey.

In the four years since the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games, China’s winter para-athletes have built on that breakthrough, winning world championships and topping rankings across several disciplines.

The squad comprises 51 men and 19 women from nine provinces and cities and five ethnic groups, and has an average age of 27; the youngest is 18 and the oldest, 40. Most bring prior Paralympic experience — 62 have competed at the Games before, and 13 are reigning gold medalists from Beijing.

Sixth Tone breaks down China’s chances in Milano-Cortina, and the key athletes to watch in each event.

Para alpine skiing

Beijing 2022: China won three gold, nine silver, and seven bronze medals in alpine skiing, finishing second to Austria in the gold count. All but three of those medals came in women’s events.

As one of the Paralympics’ marquee events, athletes hurtle down the slope at speeds approaching 100 kilometers per hour, balancing on a single ski or guided only by a voice in their earpiece.

With 30 gold medals across five disciplines — downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super-G, and super combined — alpine skiing remains one of the Games’ most contested arenas. Three defending champions return to Milano-Cortina, forming the backbone of China’s medal ambitions.

Athlete to watch: Liu Sitong

Competing in the sitting category, Liu Sitong enters Milan in commanding form.

Born in northeastern China’s Liaoning province in 1994, she lost her right leg in a childhood car accident. After trying swimming and wheelchair racing, she later took up handcycling, winning national titles, before switching to para alpine skiing in 2017.

At the 2018 PyeongChang Games, Liu was a nervous newcomer who missed a gate in the slalom but refused to quit, clawing her way back up the slope to finish, drawing widespread attention on social media. Four years later in Beijing, she returned as a contender, winning four medals, though none were gold.

Since then, she has become one of the circuit’s most consistent winners. In 2025 alone, she reached the podium in 30 major international races, including 12 victories. A broken hand sustained in a fall briefly disrupted her preparations for Milano, but she was able to continue training during recovery even in a cast.

Para curling

Beijing 2022: China won gold in wheelchair curling, dominating Sweden in the final to secure its second consecutive Paralympic title.

Wheelchair curling is played by teams of four, with at least one woman required in each lineup. Players deliver stones toward a circular target without the sweeping seen in the Olympic version, placing greater emphasis on precision and control at release.

The sport has become China’s most dependable winter para discipline. The team is two-time Paralympic champion and four-time world champion, including last year’s title, and enters Milano-Cortina ranked first in the world. A mixed doubles event has been added to the Paralympic program, offering a second medal opportunity.

Athletes to watch: Wang Haitao and Zhang Qiang

Team captain Wang Haitao has anchored the team since 2009 and has been central to every major international title it has won. In Milano, he will attempt to become the first male athlete to win three Paralympic wheelchair curling titles, after gold medals in PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022.

Teammate Zhang Qiang, born in Daqing in the northeastern Heilongjiang province, lost a leg in a car accident at 14 and withdrew from public life briefly before rebuilding his independence. He trained as a nurse and worked a series of jobs — including cashier and network administrator — before turning to wheelchair curling in 2007.

More than a decade later, he is a Paralympic champion and world titleholder, part of a veteran core that has sustained China’s dominance in the sport.

Para biathlon

Beijing 2022: China finished second in the para biathlon medals table with 12 medals, including 4 gold. The standout performers were Liu Mengtao and Liu Zixu, who swept the gold medals in the men’s sitting events.

Para biathlon combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting, where missed shots bring time or distance penalties. Races are often decided by composure under exhaustion — steady aim after punishing climbs. For athletes with upper-limb impairments, a coach pulls the trigger once the rifle is aligned, while visually impaired competitors rely on electronic rifles guided by sound.

Rivals such as Canada, Germany, and Ukraine remain strong, particularly in the standing events. But China’s recent results suggest depth across categories. At the 2026 World Cup in Notschrei, Germany, the team delivered one of its strongest international performances, winning eight gold, nine silver, and nine bronze medals.

Athlete to watch: Liu Zixu

One of the stars in Beijing, Liu returns to the Paralympics as a central figure in China’s men’s sitting squad. Born in 1997 in Xi’an, capital of the northwestern Shaanxi province, Liu lost both legs above the knee in a car accident at age 10. He began his sporting career in archery, finishing fourth at the National Games in 2015, before switching to winter sports two years later.

At Beijing 2022, Liu won gold and bronze in biathlon and narrowly missed another podium in the cross-country sprint, finishing fourth. He will again compete in both biathlon and cross-country skiing in Milano.

Para cross-country skiing

Beijing 2022: China topped the para cross-country skiing medal table with seven gold, six silver, and five bronze medals.

Athletes compete in standing, sitting, and visually impaired categories across multiple distances. Two relay events are also included, one of them mixed-gender. In total, 20 gold medals are up for grabs.

Yang Hongqiong, who swept the women’s sitting titles in Beijing, has since retired. But China retains strength across categories. In 2025, Mao Zhongwu won the sitting world title, while Wang Chenyang added another world championship in the standing events. On the women’s side, Wang Shiyu and Zhao Zhiqing both finished in the top three of the 2025 World Cup rankings podium in their respective categories.

Athlete to watch: Wang Chenyang

Wang lost both arms at age 11 following an electrical accident. After shoulder-level amputations, he relearned daily tasks using his feet, including writing and eating. “No arms, but I still have feet,” he later said. Within a year, he was living independently.

He began skiing at 13, when early training was brutal: without arms to break his fall, crashes sent him rolling off the track. At Beijing 2022, he won gold in the 12.5-kilometer freestyle event. A decade after the accident, he crossed the finish line and simply said: “I did it.”

Now a reigning world champion, Wang returns to the Paralympics aiming to defend his title in Milano-Cortina.

Para snowboard

Beijing 2022: China led the para snowboard medal table, winning more gold and overall medals than any other nation. Eight different Chinese athletes reached the podium, including a sweep of the men’s snowboard cross.

Para snowboard features two disciplines — banked slalom, a timed individual race, and snowboard cross, where athletes race head-to-head over technical terrain. Events are divided into three impairment classes for men and two for women, with eight gold medals on the program.

At the 2025 World Championships, Chinese riders topped the medal table. All Beijing medalists are set to compete in Milano-Cortina, including Geng Yanhong and Li Tiantian in the women’s events, and Wu Zhongwei, Sun Qi, Ji Lijia, Wang Pengyao, and Zhu Yonggang for the men.

Athlete to watch: Ji Lijia

Ji won gold in snowboard cross and silver in banked slalom in the upper-limb impairment class at Beijing 2022.

Born in 2002 in Shijiazhuang, capital of the northern Hebei province, Ji lost his forearm at age 6. Recruited by a provincial coach at 15, he took up snowboarding and quickly progressed from national titles to a world No. 1 ranking and a Paralympic gold medalist.

Last year, he claimed world championship titles in both snowboard cross and banked slalom, winning the coveted “golden double.” In preparation for Milano-Cortina, Ji has been training in Zhangjiakou’s Genting Snow Park — crossing the same finish line where he won his first Paralympic gold four years ago. He returns aiming to defend his cross title and contend again in slalom.

Para ice hockey

Beijing 2022: China won bronze, defeating South Korea in the third-place playoff after losing to the U.S. in the semifinals.

Played on sledges, with athletes propelling themselves using two short sticks fitted with metal teeth, para ice hockey is one of the Paralympics’ most popular team sports. The game is mixed-gender, allowing women to compete alongside men. While the U.S. and Canada remain the dominant powers, China has narrowed the gap in recent years, reaching the semifinals at the past three world championships.

At the 2025 World Championships, China finished fourth. The team narrowly lost 4-2 to eventual silver medalist Canada in the group stage and was edged in overtime by the Czech Republic in the bronze-medal game. Thirteen of the 17 players from Beijing’s bronze-winning squad return for Milano-Cortina, with a semifinal appearance considered within reach and another bronze a realistic target.

Athlete to watch: Shen Yifeng

Forward Shen Yifeng emerged as one of Beijing 2022’s breakout stars. The Hebei native finished the Games as China’s top scorer and delivered a goal and an assist in the tight knockout win over the Czech Republic that secured a place in the medal round.

Nicknamed “Little Whirlwind” by fans for his speed and agility, Shen remains central to China’s attack as the team seeks another podium finish.

Editor: Apurva.

(Icons: From the official Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics website.)

(Header image: China’s para-ice hockey team trains in Beijing ahead of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics, January 2026. Zhao Wenyu/CNS via VCG)