At London 2012, Chinese athletes took home more wheelchair fencing medals than any other nation – 10 in total, six of them gold. A significant contributor to this impressive tally was Yijun Chen.
Chen played an important role in the team's success and in emphatic style, too. In the category A men's foil event, he was unbeaten in the initial group stage, even beating then-world No. 1 Matteo Betti of Italy, 5-0. In the quarter-finals he knocked out another favourite by beating Poland's Dariusz Pender, 15-12.
Another hard-fought match in the semi-final saw Chen dispatch another big name from the sport, defeating Richard Osvath in a tough contest. He could not continue this run in the final, however, losing to countryman Ruyi Ye.
Chen was to fare better in his other events and atoned for missing out on a gold medal just two days later, taking the Paralympic title in the category A sabre competition.
On losing to Chang Win Kin of Hong Kong in the group stage it looked as though Chen may have missed his chance, but he rallied to progress to the quarter finals otherwise undefeated. He then made light work of his opponents in the knockout stages to set up another all-China final, this time against compatriot Tian Jianquan. It was a tough bout but Chen emerged to top the podium with a 15-12 victory.
That wasn't to be the last highlight for Chen at London 2012, as he teamed up with his former conqueror Ruyi Ye and Hu Daoliang for the men's team foil open. The trio from China were never really tested as they took the gold medal in the event, comfortably beating Hungary, Italy and France en route.
Chen’s performances in London, and those of the Chinese squad as a whole, reaffirmed their position as formidable opponents for any of the sport's other competitors.
When it comes to Rio 2016 they will want to consolidate this position of strength further, and Chen is expected to again play a key role in their wheelchair fencing success.
