by Ian Marshall, Editor

Feng Panfeng, Liu Jing and Xue Juan are very much the names to note; they departed the South American city with two gold medals apiece.

Gold medallist on home soil in Beijing in 2008 and then four years later in London; Feng Panfeng is becoming a legend in his own lifetime. In Rio de Janeiro, he won Men’s Singles Class 3, prior to joining forces with colleagues Zhao Ping and Zhai Xiang to secure the Men’s Team Class 3 gold; both Zhao Ping and Zhai Xiang also compete in Beijing.

Similarly, in the Women’s Singles events in Rio de Janeiro, Liu Jing won Class 2, Xue Juan secured the Class 3 title, whilst Zhang Bian emerged successful in Class 5. Later in the tournament, Liu Jing and Xue Juan partnered Li Qian to secure Women’s Team Class 1-3 gold, Zhang Bian allied with Zhou Ying to the top prize in Women’s Team Class 4-5. All seek more accolades in Beijing.

Also, in Rio de Janeiro in the Women’s Singles events, Mao Jingdian won Class 8, Liu Meng Class 9; likewise in the Men’s Singles competitions Cao Ningning secured Class 5 gold, Zhou Shuai succeeded in Class 8. Meanwhile, in Men’s Team Class 9-10, Lian Ho partnered Ma Lin to success. All with the exception of Ma Lin are listed on the 2018 China Para Open entry list.  Ma Lin is the one significant omission.

Notable names from the host nation; from Ukraine Viktor Didukh, Maksym Nikolenko and Natalya Kosmina are all on duty. In Rio de Janeiro Natalya Kosmina won Women’s Singles Class 11, Viktor Didukh and Maksym Nikolenko combined to win Men’s Team Class 6-8.

Overall, a total of 138 men and 64 women will compete in Beijing.

2018 China Para Open: Latest Draws and Results