* The Xinjiang regional disabled persons' federation invested some 15 million yuan to support the development of competitive and mass sports for people with disabilities between 2021 and the end of August this year.

* The national participation rate in grassroots cultural and sporting activities among people with disabilities skyrocketed from 6.8 percent in 2015 to 23.9 percent in 2021.

* The remarkable achievements seen in parasports in China reflect both the sportsmanship and sporting prowess of the disabled, and the progress that China is making in the areas of human rights and national development.

Bato Zaya, 18, sometimes experiences difficulty going out for dinner, doing his laundry or communicating with others.

But the middle-distance runner, who suffers from dysgnosia, an intellectual impairment, won medals in various sports competitions -- including provincial and national-level ones -- proving that his disability is no barrier to fulfilling his dreams.

"No pain, no gain. Sometimes I feel like giving up because it's just too exhausting. But in the end, I push myself to train and persevere," he said.

Bato Zaya (front) attends a training course in Wenquan County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Bato Zaya spent his childhood as a shepherd in the pastoral areas of Wenquan County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and he is a member of the Xinjiang regional training base for middle-distance runners with disabilities.

The base, established in Wenquan in 2010, has cultivated over 200 teenage middle-distance runners, some of whom have entered the international arena.

FROM GRASSLANDS TO SPORTS FIELDS

Bato Zaya was raised by his grandfather in the grasslands of Wenquan, as his parents had been unable to care for him due to health reasons.

In 2017, Abudurymu Nurmaimaiti met the thin and short boy with tangled hair at a school in a pastoral area. In the class, Bato Zaya was unable to sit still for long and would run outside to play, leaving his teachers and grandfather unsure how to handle him.

However, Abudurymu Nurmaimaiti saw the child's potential in middle-distance running.

"He has long legs, ideal physical proportions and athletic talent, and he could endure hardship as he came from the pastoral areas," said Abudurymu Nurmaimaiti, who later became the child's coach.

In 2021, Bato Zaya participated in the 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 8th National Special Olympic Games, held in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Although it was his first time participating in an official sports competition and his first time leaving Xinjiang by plane, the then 15-year-old athlete clinched four gold medals, including medals won in the 1,500 meters and team relay events.

Abudurymu Nurmaimaiti (1st L) explains the training task of the day at a stadium in Wenquan County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 30, 2024. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Previously, Bato Zaya's grandfather had worried about his grandson's future, but it was not long after he saw videos of him winning awards on his phone that he began to feel hopeful for the boy's future.

In addition to his training at the base, Bato Zaya now gets along well with people there, the coach said.

BUILDING LIVES THROUGH ATHLETICS

Jumu, 40, who comes from the pastoral areas of Wenquan, is another member of the training base. She has built a life and maintained a positive attitude by participating in sports.

When she was six years old, Jumu injured her left arm while riding a horse and later had it amputated. When she was 19, she was noticed by her coach, Sedirdin Abuduhlili.

Under the guidance of Sedirdin Abuduhlili and Abudurymu Nurmaimaiti, she has achieved various honors during her nine-year athletic career, including winning first place in a 10,000-meter race at the 6th National Games for Persons with Disabilities.

These achievements helped her secure a job provided by the county government of Wenquan, and she has started a family. Although she is no longer a full-time runner, her passion for the sport remains unchanged.

In 2023, Jumu returned to the track to participate in the 7th Xinjiang regional games for people with disabilities, representing her hometown. She won gold medals in three events.

The file photo taken in September 2023 shows Jumu (1st R) competing during the 7th Paralympic Games of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)

"Whenever it rains, the arm I broke years ago still aches, but as long as I step onto the training field with other members, I forget the pain," she said. "I belong to the arena, and running fills me with passion."

In her bedroom, Jumu keeps a yellowed newspaper that bears a photo of her winning a championship over 10 years ago on the front page. She also cherishes a booklet featuring her running on its cover.

And her five-year-old daughter, she said, often proudly says that her mother is a champion.

NURTURING TALENT AMONG TEENS WITH DISABILITIES

Over the years, Abudurymu Nurmaimaiti has trained over 200 teenagers, most of whom have come from rural and pastoral areas of Xinjiang. These children are from various ethnic groups, including the Han, Uygur, Mongolian and Kazak, and have intellectual or physical disabilities.

"They train while learning cultural knowledge, venturing out of the grasslands and mountains. They participate in competitions in big cities. And after retiring from the sport, they are able to secure jobs with steady incomes," he said, adding that some have taken jobs such as assistant coach or overseer of sports facilities.

He added that these achievements are attributable also to the instructions of his own coach, Sedirdin Abuduhlili, 20 years ago.

Abudurymu Nurmaimaiti started training in middle-distance running with Sedirdin Abuduhlili when he was a sixth grader. At that time, the coach trained both able-bodied children and children with disabilities.

Under his guidance, Abudurymu Nurmaimaiti won the 1,500-meter championship at the Xinjiang regional games. "At the time, conditions were much more challenging than they are now. Many of us couldn't afford a pair of cheap sneakers for 7 yuan (about 99 U.S. cents), but our coach bought them for us. After we achieved ideal results, he would reward us with mutton," he said.

Some members of the Xinjiang regional training base for middle-distance runners with disabilities pose for a group photo with their coaches in Wenquan County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 30, 2024. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

After graduating from the Institute of Physical Education of Xinjiang Normal University in 1997, Abudurymu Nurmaimaiti returned to Wenquan to become a full-time middle-distance running coach.

In 2004, Sedirdin Abuduhlili was diagnosed with uremia. In his last days, he asked Abudurymu Nurmaimaiti to continue training children with disabilities, as it was their only way out.

To fulfill his coach's wish, Abudurymu Nurmaimaiti continued training these children, which required immense patience. "Even for basic movements, I need to repeat constantly for a year or even several years to help the children develop muscle memory and cultivate habits for competitions," he said.

For example, he said, when practicing frog jumps, he demonstrates the movement by breaking it down into slow motion. As there are many hearing-impaired children, they have agreed to use simple sign gestures to represent corresponding movements.

The Xinjiang regional disabled persons' federation said it invested some 15 million yuan to support the development of competitive and mass sports for people with disabilities between 2021 and the end of August this year. So far, the region has established various related sports teams, including a track and field team.

The development of parasports in Wenquan is a microcosm of China's development of parasports. According to a white paper released by the State Council in 2022, the national participation rate in grassroots cultural and sporting activities among people with disabilities skyrocketed from 6.8 percent in 2015 to 23.9 percent in 2021.

The remarkable achievements seen in parasports in China reflect both the sportsmanship and sporting prowess of the disabled, and the progress that China is making in the areas of human rights and national development, the white paper said. 

(Reporting by Lu Yifan, Du Gang and Hu Huhu; Video reporters: Aman, Hu Huhu and Yin Xingyu; Video editors: Wang Houyuan, Roger Lott and Zhu Cong)