Chinese Delegation Arrives in Sydney for Paralympic GamesA 122-member Chinese contingent arrived in Sydney Thursday afternoon to take part in the 11th Paralympic Games set to open next Wednesday.The delegation was welcomed at the Sydney International Airport by Zhou Wenzhong, Chinese ambassador to Australia and Wu Keming, Chinese Consul General in Sydney. Also at the airport to receive the Chinese Paralympic delegation were representatives of overseas Chinese headed by Tony Goh, secretary general of the Australian Council of Chinese Organizations (NSW) and John Qian, honorary chairman of the Australia Beijing Association. The Chinese ambassador said that Chinese athletes' golden medal performance at the 27th Olympic Games which closed here on October 1, will undoubtedly encourage the country's Paralympians for even greater achievement at the Sydney Games. The contingent of 87 athletes who arrived here on Thursday represented the largest Chinese presence at Paralympic Games ever since its debut in Los Angeles in 1984. The Chinese athletes are to compete in 159 events of six sports-- track and field, swimming, shooting, table tennis, judo and weightlifting. The Chinese Paralympic delegation has set a target of winning more gold medals here than in the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta, where China's disabled athletes won 16 gold medals. The 2000 Paralympic Games, which set to close on October 29, are expected to attract a field of over 4,000 athletes and 2,000 team officials from all over the world. |
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