In the all-male domain of wheelchair rugby, the presence of two females at the Beijing Paralympics on Saturday gave the world much more than a novelty.
Zhang Wenli from China and Canadian Erika Schmutz has made history to become the first two female athletes to compete at the Paralympic court, while Briton Pearson Josie was waiting at the court side for her maiden show.
The three women forced their way into the man's sport following the rules were changed after the 2004 Athens Games to allow each team have 12 players if it recruits a female.
The appearance of Zhang and Schmutz in the match between the host and Canada became quite a sensation on Saturday afternoon at the gymnasium of Beijing University of Science and Technology. More than 6,000 Chinese fans, most of whom had no idea what the sport is like before, showed their support with the unisonal cheering and applauding.
Schmutz was sent to the court at the first quarter and later she was joined by Zhang at the third. Both playing a defender, their job was to stop the other players getting the ball.
However, the Canadian, who has been training for four years, showed better skills than her Chinese counterpart with successful blocking and three goals for her team. The 40-year-old Zhang ended her four-minute Paralympic debut with two pass errors as the Chinese team went down 57-25 to suffer a second loss.
"As a female player, it's my great honor to join the national team, but I'm really nervous at the court because this is my first Paralympics," said Zhang.
The former high school sport teacher from east China's Shandong Province was confined to wheelchair following a diving accident in 1994. Zhang, also once a volleyball setter, restarted her sports career in 2006 as she was introduced with the wheelchair rugby by a provincial team coach.
"My skill is not mature enough to compete with the Canadians, who actually invented this game, but I'm eager to appear at the court, not only for my parents and friends, who are always supportive during my training, but also I hope my presence can encourage more Chinese disabled females to participate in and enjoy sports," she said.
Zhang's strains were also shared by the 35-year-old Schmutz, who was described by her coach to be "a boyish girl".
"Nervous at first of course, but then after a while, you get comfortable. It's the same game you play all the time. You just got relaxed and get used to it," she told Xinhua.
The Canadian was surprised by the rapid improvement of the Chinese team and Zhang after their first meeting in May at the Canada Cup.
"I have been playing? longer than them and that makes a big difference. Experience is a big part of this game," she said. "I have seen huge difference from Wenli. I really hope she can keep playing and she had a lots of potential."
Schmutz, a power system engineer, feels no stranger to work at a men's world.
"I produced power, It is also man's work, but I can handle that. But for rugby, it's lonely sometimes at the court. It's great to see more females starting to play the sports which is really good for their development," she said.
In another match of Pool A, twice gold winner the United States clinched a semifinal ticket after outlasting Japan 44-37 thanks hugely to their aggressive defence in key moments.
The Americans established their winning advantages with a three-goal difference after the first quarter and the outcome was never in doubt even though Japan fought back at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth to narrow their gap as close as two goals.
The U.S. will play Canada to decide the first place of Pool A, while Japan faces China to place the third.
In Pool B, defending champion New Zealand repeated their dramatic loss to Britain the day before after losing to Australia with the identical 38-39. Australian Ryley Batt scored the last of his 27 goals with less than five seconds left on the clock, sending New Zealand out of medal competition.
In the last match of the day, Britain upset Germany 39-35 to enter the semifinals with Australia.
(Xinhua News Agency September 14, 2008)