At the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing, eight flag-bearers with integrated disabilities marched slowly with the national flag in hand. Among them, a short flag bearer is particularly eye-catching. She is Li Liqing, who has won many championships in Asian and even world-level judo competitions, and is also a student at Dongguan Open University.
Li Liqing was born in a rural family in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province in 1993, suffering from congenital amblyopia. However, she did not become depressed because of her physical disability, but instead became more self-improving and brightened. At the beginning of 2010, Li Liqing, who was in the third year of junior high school, was favored by the provincial coaches who went to the countryside to select talents because of her high talent and ability to endure hardships, and entered the training of the Guangdong Blind Judo Team.
The training at the sports school was extremely hard. Li Liqing had to arrive at the track and field before 5:30 a.m. every day. Due to the needs of the project, she had to wear a dao uniform that weighed more than ten kilograms for training. It can be imagined that the summer in Guangdong is extremely sweltering. Head splitting bleeding is also commonplace. Engaged in judo training for nearly 7 years, Li Liqing has suffered 3 major injuries and numerous minor injuries. She has suffered major injuries to knee joints, ankle joints, hip joints and other parts. “To excel, you have to suffer. As an athlete, I’m used to the pain,” she said firmly.
Hard work always pays off, and after the cold winter comes spring. Over the years, Li Liqing has won many awards in various competitions, big and small. In May 2014, in the National Judo Championships, she won the women’s 48kg and below championship, qualified for the US World Championships, and was selected to train for the national judo team; in September of the same year, she defeated the previous session with an unstoppable dark horse momentum. Paralympic champion, won the gold medal, and won the ticket to the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games; in October of the same year, he successfully defended his title at the Incheon Asian Paralympic Games; in 2016, he won the first Olympic gold medal in his life, and at the same time It is also the first gold medal of the Guangdong delegation and the second gold medal of the Chinese delegation. In 2022, as a representative of outstanding athletes, he was selected by the state as one of the flag guards of the Beijing Winter Paralympics.
Although the training pressure is high and the competition is fierce, Li Liqing also insists on the balance between career and study, and has made reasonable plans for training, competition and study. In 2018, Li Liqing enrolled in the social work major of Dongguan Open University and ushered in another key node in her life. She trains during the day and studies at night, striving to become a more perfect self and chasing her dreams. Due to visual impairment and injuries brought on by training, the heavy curriculum made her education very difficult. With the help of the head teacher Li Huijun, she worked hard to overcome many difficulties and achieved excellent academic results, and successively won the “2019 National Open University Outstanding Graduate of Dongguan Open University” and “2019 National Open University Scholarship”. It may be because of the lack of her body that she is more eager for knowledge than others. After successfully obtaining the college diploma in December 2020, she continued to apply for the undergraduate administration of Dongguan Open University. The intensive training and study gave Li Liqing almost no time to spare. Sometimes the exam time was extremely close to the competition time, and she had to rush back to the exam room overnight after the competition. Opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared. After hard work, Li Liqing is about to graduate smoothly.
As long as she keeps working hard, she will definitely thank herself for her struggle in the future; as long as she is willing to work hard, where her dream can reach, one day her footsteps will also reach it. We believe that Li Liqing, whose heart is bright, will go further and better on the road of chasing her dream!
Li Liqing at the competition venue
Li Liqing at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics
Li Liqing in judo competition
