National pride inspires Liu to glory
Liu Mengtao admitted there were better shooters and skiers than him in Tuesday's para biathlon men's middle distance sitting field. However, he still walked away with a gold medal thanks, he says, to his sheer determination to top the podium on home snow.
"I'm not good at either of them (shooting and skiing)," said the 20-year-old Paralympic debutant after victory in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province.
"I wanted to see the Chinese flag being raised to the highest point. That's where I got the motivation."
Liu's triumph was China's eighth gold medal of the Beijing Winter Paralympics, with the host topping the medal standings at the halfway point.
"China was not strong in winter Paralympic sports in the past. The best individual result we had at Pyeongchang 2018 was Zheng Peng's fourth-place finish in para cross-country skiing," said Liu.
"We've been longing to break that record for him. Now, as you can see, our hard work has paid off.
"We've got the whole country watching us, including my family. What if I fail to deliver a good race? So, yeah, the pressure is definitely there."
Liu, who took a bronze in the para biathlon men's sprint sitting on Saturday, finished Tuesday's 10-kilometer race in 30 minutes and 30.7 seconds, missing three shots in the four rounds of prone shooting.
On embracing his opponents after the race, Liu said: "We're competing together, it's like a celebration."
