The Chinese para-shooting team is gearing up for the upcoming 2024 Paris Paralympics with intense training as they make their final push to excel at the Games.
The para-shooting team is composed of 16-members, with nine athletes competing in nine events. Their training involves specialized adaptations and meticulous preparation.
Xie Huanyu, a team member gearing up for her Paralympic debut, joined the team in 2020 and will compete in two events: the 10-meter rifle prone and the 50-meter rifle three positions.
She showcases the team's preparation area in southwest China's Sichuan Province, where each shooter's equipment is meticulously organized. The large boxes behind each athlete contain essential shooting gear, including gun parts and accessories, as well as shooting suits.
"This is our shooting suit. Unlike pistol shooters, we need to wear shooting suits primarily for safety and to enhance stability," she said.
"This is the 50-meter range. The 10-ring target is only the size of a soybean. You can get a sense of how small it appears from 50 meters away," said Xie.
She mentioned that she holds her rifle, which weighs around five kilograms, for four to five hours of daily practice, focusing on building strength and stability.
Outside the shooting range, much of the athletes' time is spent in the training room, where they work on core strength and muscle relaxation to offset the stiffness from rigorous practice.
"As we approach the final stage of our preparation, we will seize every minute for our training. We hope to make an outperformance and shine at the Paris Paralympics. Let's all look forward to our performance!" she said.
With the Paris Paralympic Games on the horizon, running from Aug 28 to Sept.8 , the Chinese Paralympic delegation has arrived at the Paralympic Village in Paris. The Games will feature 22 sports and 549 events and China's 284 athletes will compete in 19 sports and 302 events.
Chinese para-shooters take aim at upcoming Paris Paralympics
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed emphasized the persistent challenges in achieving women's representation in decision-making roles, noting that while progress has been made, the journey is far from complete, in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Over the past three decades, the global landscape has seen the implementation of more than 1,500 laws aimed at promoting gender equality. This legislative framework has undoubtedly facilitated an increase in women's participation in various sectors.
Mohammed, however, warned that this progress remains insufficient.
"We've had a lot of success. We're getting more women into decision-making roles but getting them there doesn't necessarily mean that we've achieved the end result of having the impact felt of all the goals that we have asked for. Getting there means it's the beginning of another battle," she said. She highlighted the gaps in women's leadership, particularly in peace-building, development, and technology.
"We, as we open up the space for women's leadership, have to bring in more women to the table. We have to deliver, and that's sometimes harder than when men sit at the table and have to deliver. And we have to make sure that we are working with them in the same way that we believe our participation is useful and come together with that. But for women's leadership - occupy the space, create more for others to come in. We need to be at the table of peace. We are not. We need to be at the table of sustainable development. We are getting better at it, but we're still not there yet. We need to be at the table where technology as it is designed, as algorithms are designed. All of these, we need to be at the table, so that they don't affect us. And I think that this is going to be a continuous exercise in trying to make that happen," Mohammed said.
Despite the challenges, Mohammed expressed optimism in the potential of the next generation of leaders.
"I'm excited about the potentials and opportunities. Young people are doing it better. We're seeing more young women in those spaces. But we as the generation behind them, I stood on the shoulders of some women, and I hope that others will stand on our shoulders. But we need to do more, faster," she said.
UN deputy chief calls for expanding women's leadership in key roles
