China's goalball team ready to build toward LA28 success at home World Championships
The Chinese women’s goalball team is aiming to use the upcoming home World Championships as a springboard to their first Paralympic gold Matches at the 2026 IBSA Goalball World Championships will take place between 10 and 15 June in Hangzhou, China 05 Jun 2026
Beijing 2008 was a pivotal moment in the development of goalball in China. Both teams made their Paralympic debuts in the sport at those home Games, with the men winning gold and the women taking silver in dramatic finals against Lithuania and the USA, respectively.
“(Beijing 2008) brought Chinese goalball to the international stage, raised public awareness of Para sports and laid a solid foundation for the long-term development,” said Xiaopeng Zhang, coach of the women's goalball team. “(But) international competition has grown increasingly fierce.”
The men's triumph at Beijing 2008 remains China's only Paralympic goalball gold medal to date, with one additional silver for the men and two more for the women. The women’s team also took bronze at Paris 2024.
Zhang says 20 years without Paralympic gold is “both pressure and a mission” as the team aims to top the podium for the first time at the LA28 Paralympic Games. This month's IBSA Goalball World Championships will serve as an important step in achieving that goal, the coach adds.
“We aim to achieve a breakthrough in Los Angeles, win glory for our country and make up for past regrets,” Zhang said.
“We are all really excited and honoured to compete in the upcoming World Championships,” Zhang added. “Playing on home soil means huge motivation for every member of our team, and we feel the strong backing from local fans, which pushes us to give our best performance.
Reflecting on the Paris 2024 Paralympics
Three years after missing the Paralympic podium for the first time at Tokyo 2020, China fielded a young team at Paris 2024, with only two athletes with prior Paralympic experience.
“To prepare for future competitions long-term, we completed generational renewal and injected fresh vitality into the team,” Zhang explained.
Zhenhua Cao, who was one of the two players who competed at both Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, says that while the team “cherish” the bronze medals they came away with, the shortcomings of having such an inexperienced playing roster were exposed. She scored a hat-trick in the 6-1 group-stage win against Israel, only for China to lose 2-1 to the same team in the semi-final.
“Margins between teams are extremely narrow in international competitions, and our young team is yet to mature mentally in major tournaments,” said Chunyan Wang, who scored for China in the semi-final. “We failed to stay composed after Israel changed its tactics.”
Coach Zhang agrees: “We have abundant physical fitness and great potential, but lack experience in key competitions and are vulnerable to mental pressure.”
The team bounced back from that defeat to Israel to beat Brazil 6-0 in the bronze-medal match, Wang scoring four goals and Cao grabbing the other two.
The pair seem to thrive on scoring the majority of the goals.
“We will take responsibility and unite our teammates," Cao said.
“Scoring brings excitement and a strong send of achievement. High public expectations bring pressure, which also serves as motivation.”
The 2026 IBSA Goalball World Championships
Public expectations and pressure will certainly be high when the 2026 Goalball World Championships are held in Hangzhou, China. Matches will take place from 10-15 June, featuring a total of 32 teams (16 men’s and 16 women’s).
For the Chinese women’s team, it is an opportunity to showcase the sport to more people in the country, with two years to go until the next Paralympic Games.
“We respect all opponents, stay focused on our own style and strengths, and are confident to compete at a high level in every match,” Zhang said.
“The home crowd atmosphere will be incredibly valuable experience for us. Competing under such intense attention will help our players get used to high pressure game scenarios, which will definitely lay a solid foundation for our preparation for LA 2028.
“It will strengthen our mental toughness and match day adaptability for future major international events. To improve, we will keep refining teamwork to deliver better performances.”
Wang agrees that the key lies in the collective rather than individuals.
“We trust each other deeply and are confident of achieving good results,” she said. “To improve we will focus on strengthening teamwork and adjusting our competition mentality.
“We hope to end the 20-year (Paralympic) gold drought, win honour for our country and realise personal and team dreams.”
