Liu, Ji named as China's flagbearers for Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics opening ceremony

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Para alpine skier Liu Sitong and Para snowboarder Ji Lijia have been named as China's flagbearers for the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, the Chinese delegation announced on Thursday.

Liu will participate in her third Winter Paralympics after PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, pocketing one silver and three bronze medals in last edition of the Games on home snow.

The 31-year-old will participate in five events of Para alpine skiing at the Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics.

Ji topped the podium in the men's snowboard cross SB-UL and won a silver in the banked slalom SB-UL at Beijing 2022. He won both events at the 2025 World Championships. The 23-year-old will compete in the same two events at the upcoming Winter Paralympics.

The opening ceremony will be staged in Verona, Italy on Friday.