Sports events staged simultaneously for first time

The 9th National Games of Disabled Persons and 6th Special Olympic Games of the People's Republic of China opened at Shuangliu Sports Center in Shuangliu, a county in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, on Saturday.

Since the first National Games in Hefei, Anhui province, in 1984, the quadrennial event has been held in Hebei, Guangdong, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Yunnan and Zhejiang provinces and Shanghai.

The Special Olympics have been staged in Guangdong, Fujian, Shaanxi and Heilongjiang provinces since making their debut in Shenzhen, Guangdong in 1987.

The two events were merged in 2013."It is the first time both events are held in one place at the same time," said Cai Sujing, executive secretary general of the organizing committee.

Attracting 2,382 athletes, competition takes place in Chengdu, Mianyang, Suining and Meishan over eight days.

Participants in the National Games compete in 20 events including archery, track-and-field, badminton, basketball, cycling, football, judo, weightlifting, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, and chess, while those in the Special Olympics will contest nine events, including track-and-field, badminton, basketball, basketball, weightlifting, swimming and table tennis.