Blood, sweat and cheers

Coaching experience

At the Tokyo Paralympics, China's Liu Yutong and Yin Menglu fell to Japan's Sarina Satomi and Yuma Yamazaki in the women's doubles WH1-WH2 final.

However, at the Paris Paralympics, as the top-seeded duo, Liu and Yin faced their old rivals in the final again — and this time, they secured the victory and the gold medal.

Their coach, Qu Fuchun, leaped onto the court, pumping his fists and spinning his jubilant players around as they basked in the crowd's cheers.

"Our players have made immense sacrifices over these years. Their hands are covered in blisters and calluses from constantly maneuvering their wheelchairs," Qu Fuchun said.

"Once the match ended, all the emotions we had been holding back came pouring out," he added.

Qu Fuchun has spent more than a decade alongside his athletes, living and training with them. A former para badminton player himself, he retired in 2011 and transitioned to coaching, bringing invaluable firsthand experience to the role.

"Wheelchair badminton started relatively late in China, and we didn't have any established training methods to follow. We had to figure it all out on our own," Qu Fuchun explained.

Drawing on his own experience as a para athlete, Qu Fuchun pays special attention to injury prevention during training.

Before each match, he leads them through a warm-up routine he personally developed to fully activate their bodies and stretch their fascia, helping to prevent injuries during training and in competition.

Watching his athletes grow from novices to Paralympic champions has given him a profound sense of fulfillment.

Now 62, Qu Fuchun hopes to continue nurturing new talent for China's para badminton team, strengthening the squad's development, and building a pipeline for future champions.

liyingxue@chinadaily.com.cn