Chinese team bags medals at skills Olympics for disabled

BEIJING -- The Chinese delegation took home six gold, seven silver and seven bronze recently at the 10th International Abilympics in Metz, a city in eastern France, China Daily reported Thursday.

Twenty-nine players from the Chinese delegation participated in 20 events in nine different categories of the Abilympics -- work skills Olympics for people with disabilities.

Even with 15 fewer contestants and nine fewer events compared with the last session, the Chinese delegation still achieved a remarkable result, ranking fourth among all the participating countries and regions, according to the news report.

The Chinese delegation won the championships in food carving, text processing, hairdressing, massage, crochet and embroidery, in addition to silver medals in cooking, women's dressmaking, management of network systems, building web pages, data processing, studio photography, furniture making, computer programming and wood carving, the report said.

Sha Hongying, a silver medalist in crochet, was quoted as saying: "I outdid myself this time. If I do it at home with this material, I might not be able to do it very well because of the limited time. I worked so hard in the competition that I finished it half an hour ahead of schedule."

The International Abilympics is one of the highest-level and largest vocational skills competitions for disabled people in the world. It aims to help those with disabilities develop vocational skills, stimulate their self-confidence and potential, and provide strong support in employment and entrepreneurship.