Rocky road to success

In the semifinal the previous day, China beat three times Paralympic defending champions Canada 4-3 in a nail-biting game, thanks to Wang Haitao's accurate last shot.

Four years ago, Wang Haitao faced the same situation in Sochi, where his last shot decided whether Canada or China would join the final, but he didn't make it. Then China squandered a 3-0 lead to lose to Britain in the bronze final, and lost its chance to climb the podium.

This time, Wang Haitao was given the hammer again and he had a tough shot to beat Canada.

"I'm mentally stronger than I was four years ago. I used to play rashly when our scores started to fall behind, and it would affect my teammates. But now I'm getting better, and we trust and encourage each other during games," says Wang Haitao.

After beating Canada in the semifinal in the afternoon, Wang Haitao and his teammates continued training well into the evening in preparation for the final－the only team to do so at that stage.

Before Wang Haitao took the shot in the fourth end in the final, Wang Meng wiped the rock, picked up his captain's stick and handed it to him.

Curling is all about detail. In the 2009 World Championship in Vancouver, Canada, China lost a game because a hair on the ice suddenly changed the track of the last rock Wang Haitao played, which looked set to score.

Wang Haitao played a takeout and made the score 3-3. Zhang Qiang clapped loudly for each successful shot, sitting next to coaches Yue Qingshuang and Li Jianrui.

Yue used to be in the China women's curling team, winning the world championship as a team member in 2009. She stepped in as head coach for the national wheelchair team in November.