3 March 2026

Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics: Team People’s Republic of China

As we approach the beginning of wheelchair curling at Milano Cortina 2026, we will take a look at all the National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) competing. Next is Team People’s Republic of China.

Team People’s Republic of China will be represented by two wheelchair curling teams: Team Wang (mixed team) and Team Wang/Yang (mixed doubles).

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Just last month, China celebrated the Lunar New Year, and with it, the return of the Year of the Fire Horse for the first time in 60 years.

Chinese tradition celebrates each year by associating it with one of 12 animals and one of five elements, and this year promises to bring bold action, risk taking, power and growth.

Wang Haitao, the skip of the mixed team for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, may consider himself a bit of a fire horse.

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Meet the teams

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Changing the game

Speaking to athletes around the world, there is a consensus that China’s wheelchair curling team changed the game. They first attempted to qualify for the World Wheelchair Curling Championship in 2008, but made it to the competition for the first time the following year.

Leading them out as their skip for the first time was the 19-year-old Wang Haitao, whose paralysis came from contracting polio as a child. In a field full of athletes who started using a wheelchair in adulthood, he was using one at his physical peak.

And he used it to his advantage.

Soon, the Chinese became associated with power shots and decibel-shattering roars during matches, injecting an oomph into major tournaments and keeping the rest of the teams working hard to keep with them.

He bred a consistency that continues to this day — China have never finished lower than fifth at the world championship, and have made the play-offs on ten occasions, delivering four golds, one silver and three bronzes across their 13 consecutive appearances. Wang has played in 12 of them.

Beijing glory and a growing legacy

Even with these moments of excellence, few moments will be important in his career than leading his rink to the gold medal at the Beijing 2022 Paralympics, defeating Sweden 8-3 in the final.

“I will never forget it in my life,” said Wang to International Paralympic Committee media.

“It is the most glorious thing as an athlete to be able to participate in the Winter Paralympics held in my own country and win the gold medal.

“When competing in our own country, our families and the audience gave us extremely strong support — even if we didn’t play well, everyone still gave us the greatest support and cheered us on.”

A physical approach also means adapting when the strength begins to wane. While he has become a master tactician over the years, there is also no clear indicator how long he will remain a player. He has mentioned his wish to remain involved in the sport to encourage others to try it even after he hangs up his broom.

Whenever that day comes, the sport will lose a legend on the ice, who still has more to achieve. He could become the first skip to win three Paralympic gold medals, having already become the first player to skip four world championship-winning teams.

China head in as the world champions from 2025, having nudged out Canada 5-4 in the semi-finals before defeating Korea 14-3 with three scores of four, showing how quick they are to capitalise on any error.

The team remains unchanged from last year’s victory too: Wang is joined by his familiar vice-skip and fellow two-time Paralympic champion Chen Jianxin, with Zhang Mingliang looking for his second Paralympic gold alongside debutants, lead Li Nana and alternate Zhang Qiang.

Chasing history at Milano Cortina 2026

With three titles from the past four world championships and two Paralympic titles in a row, the target is firmly on their back heading towards the Games, but there is no signs of slowing.

And signs of the future continue to show. 2018 Paralympics winner Wang Meng will be competing in the mixed doubles tournament with the 24-year-old Yang Jinqiao, who is the youngest wheelchair curler in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The pair won world silver together in 2024 and will fancy their chances of winning a medal again.

If the Year of the Fire Horse is anything to go by, we could see more of that trademark Chinese energy on the ice.

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Team People’s Republic of China stats

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