Paralympics | A glistening gold medal made of sweat, tears and unbreakable will

Liu Yutong (L)/Yin Menglu of China and coach Qu Fuchun (C) celebrate after the women's doubles WH1-WH2 gold medal match of para badminton against Satomi Sarina/Yamazaki Yuma of Japan at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France, Sept. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/He Canling)

Chinese shuttler Yin Menglu, reflecting on her hard work, and partner Liu Yutong clinched gold in women's doubles WH1-WH2 at the Paris Paralympics, avenging their Tokyo loss to Japan's Satomi and Yamazaki.

PARIS, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- "Every night when I lay in my bed, the same thought echoed in my mind -- I've trained so hard for the Games, and I have to win in Paris," Chinese shuttler Yin Menglu recalled after claiming the gold medal in the women's doubles WH1-WH2 with her partner, the Tokyo Paralympic champion Liu Yutong at the Paris Paralympics on Sunday.

The Chinese pair won the gold medal match 21-17, 21-19, by taking revenge on the defending champions Sarina Satomi and Yuma Yamazaki of Japan, who beat them in the Tokyo Paralympics final.

Gold medalists Liu Yutong (3rd R)/Yin Menglu (3rd L) of China, silver medalists Satomi Sarina (2nd L)/Yamazaki Yuma (1st L) of Japan and bronze medalists Sujirat Pookkham (1st R)/Amnouy Wetwithan of Thailand react during the awarding ceremony of the women's doubles WH1-WH2 event of para badminton at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France, Sept. 2, 2024. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

"Finally, we made up the regret from three years ago," the 22-year-old Yin said.

Flashback to Tokyo 2020, where the Paralympic debutant Liu and Yin faced the same opponents in the final, only to lose after a grueling three-set battle. The sting of that defeat lingered, particularly for Yin, whose dreams of Paralympic gold seemed to slip through her fingers.

"We were so close to winning that final, and we had a chance to win," Yin said, her voice still tinged with regret and disappointment. "It was so frustrating. I made a vow then to train even harder and ensure we would win next time."

Liu Yutong (L)/Yin Menglu of China celebrate after the women's doubles WH1-WH2 gold medal match of para badminton against Satomi Sarina/Yamazaki Yuma of Japan at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France, Sept. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

"Sometimes, I would shout before training, 'I'm going to beat Satomi!' It became my motivation," Yin said, her eyes welling up with tears. "I trained hard every day in the last three years with a strong belief to win today."

Despite shoulder injuries and backaches from training, Yin's determination to be a Paralympic champion grew every night as she finished her day training. The strong belief soothed her to sleep and steeled her for the challenges ahead.

"Today, we made quite a few mistakes and didn't play perfectly. But we stayed calm at the crucial moments and fought for every point," the 20-year-old Liu reflected. "This shows our mental growth."

As they stood basking in the glory of their hard-earned victory, memories of the past three years flooded their minds. "The late-night training, the challenges, the pain -- it's all still so vivid," said Liu, now a double Paralympic gold medalist. "But now, it's all worth it. We're here, and we've achieved our dream."