- EU talks deportation hubs to stem migration
- Deaths and repression sideline Suu Kyi's party ahead of Myanmar vote
- S. Africa offers a lesson on how not to shut down a coal plant
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
Beginners to champions: China rise to dominate Winter Paralympics
China have emerged as a new Winter Paralympics powerhouse at their own Beijing Games, topping the medals table in a stunning success backed by huge investment and aided by the absence of Russian athletes.
The hosts on Sunday stood proudly top of the standings having won 60 medals and 18 golds with just a handful of events still to be decided.
Their rise is all the more remarkable given that only they made their Winter Paralympics debut in 2002 and it took them until Pyeongchang, just four years ago, to win a first gold, in wheelchair curling.
"The Games have given people with impairments a lot of confidence," gold medal cross-country skier Mao Zhongwu told AFP.
China's Paralympics success story, say long-time Games observers, is one of money, foreign coaches, the absence of Russian athletes, hard work and, perhaps, home country advantage.
Recruiting talent such as Russian para-ice hockey coach Nikolay Sharshukov and Italian alpine ski coach Dario Capelli helped generate medal contenders.
- Back to basics -
Capelli said had to go back to basics to turn a squad of beginners into champions.
"For these athletes, every day for 11 months, it was: ski training, ski training ... I don't know which other country can do this," he said.
"On the first day, we did a test with them, on a slope where they had to make five turns. We realised that they were all beginners."
China's General Administration of Sports had a budget of $1 billion in 2021 and a significant amount was channelled into winter sports, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The think-tank noted that strong Summer Games performer Australia had a sports budget of $124 million, while American athletes were entirely privately funded.
"The Chinese mentality is: when they want something, they want the top. They invest a lot of money. That is very important," Capelli said.
Loughborough University sports psychology researcher Sara Svoboda said China's success may be reflective of strong campaign planning and using psychological strategies derived from the military.
"Their strong showing may be the result of aligning a vision and mission across the entire Paralympic squad, including support staff, which helps to mobilise efforts and create an overarching vision driving their team forward," she told AFP.
Small crowds of hand-picked domestic spectators have been going wild for Chinese victories -- dancing to pop music and waving flags.
At the para-snowboarding cross finals, China made a clean sweep of the men's upper limb category medals.
The ecstatic trio, Ji Lijia, Wang Pengyao and Zhu Yonggang wore their country's flag like capes as they celebrated the result.
- Russian absence -
Cliff Mallett, a former elite Australian track-and-field coach now University of Queensland academic, said home advantage should never be assumed.
It can spur some athletes to greater heights while for others it increases stress.
"In Chinese society, I assume competing at home would be advantageous because of the pride the Chinese have in representing their country in front of their relatives, friends, and villages; their social identity is very strong," he told AFP.
"But everyone will be different. I assume that some will feel that pressure and subsequently underperform."
The absence of the powerful Russian athletes -- who were banned from the games following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine -- also cleared a path for more Chinese success.
Competing as neutrals four years ago in Pyeongchang, Russian athletes won eight gold, 10 silver and nine bronze medals.
The International Paralympics Committee (IPC) originally ruled that athletes from Russia and ally Belarus would be allowed to compete as neutrals, but 24 hours later banned the two countries after threats of boycotts and tension in the athletes' village.
IPC President Andrew Parsons acknowledged the impact of the Russian absence. "Of course some of them are very strong athletes and this has in some way affected the depth of field in some events," Parsons said.
The scale of China's success in Beijing even took some of their own athletes by surprise.
"We weren't really aware of our level before these Paralympic Games," said Liu Sitong, 27, who won two bronze and one silver medal in women's sitting alpine skiing, "because we haven't been competing abroad much lately."
M.A.Colin--AMWN