XI'AN, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Shaanxi Basketball Association (SBA) announced on Thursday that the 2018 Chinese Wheelchair Basketball Championships will debut here on June 8.
According to SBA's announcement, 14 teams (including Beijing, Shaanxi, Hong Kong and others) will take part in the competitions in Xi'an from June 8 to June 15, nine of which are able to win the top Chinese men's title in wheelchair basketball. The other five teams will compete in the women's group.
The Wheelchair basketball Paralympics was recognized as a formal event in 1960. The Chinese women's wheelchair basketball team took sixth place in the Rio Paralympics two years ago.
An unnamed official of the Chinese Basketball Association told Xinhua that in preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, the Chinese wheelchair teams would select their members from the ranks of championship players.
"The event will help expand the popularity of basketball all over the province. We want a city that respects people with disabilities during and beyond this year's championships," said the announcement.
