ATHENS, Sept. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese National Flag was raised with the accompaniment of Chinese National Anthem at 10:00 local time Sunday at Olympic Village for the Athens Paralympic Games slated for September 17-28.

    The whole Chinese delegation headed by Wang Xinxian, attended the flag-raising ceremony.

    China will take part in the Athens Paralympic Games with a strong delegation, with 200 athletes participating in 284 disciplines of 11 out of the 19 sports listed on the Games program. It is China's largest turnout in the history of the quadrennial event since its Paralympic debut in 1984.

    China sent 24 athletes to the 7th Paralympic Games in 1984, 43 to the Seoul Games in 1988, 24 to Barcelona in 1992, 37 to Atlantain 1996 and 87 to the previous Games four years ago in Sydney, harvesting two gold medals in 1984, 17 in Seoul, 11 in Barcelona, 16 in Atlanta and 34 in Sydney.

    In Sydney, China also won 22 silver and 16 bronze medals for a medal tally of 72 to rank sixth overall in the medal standings.

    China Paralympic Committee vowed to surpass both final gold medal and medal tally rankings in Sydney at Athens Paralympic Games and have their athletes more experienced for hosting the 2008 Games in Beijing. Enditem