The players were awarded with the special honor before the team final was held. At the Beijing Olympics last month, the ITTF also gave a special honor to three veteran players.

German Rainer Schmidt and Kwong Kam Shing from Hong Kong are the only two players that have participated in 7 Paralympics since 1984 in Los Angeles. Schmidt has won 4 gold and 4 silver medals.

ITTF officials say the award is to encourage disabled athletes to work hard and perform well in table tennis.

One of the veterans is Zhang Xiaoling, a Chinese player in women's class 8. She has won 10 gold medals in the previous five Paralympics. Zhang won a bronze at this Beijing tournament in the individual event just a couple of days ago.

Table tennis player Zhang Xiaoling said, "The ITTF awards me the special honor. I think it's a recognition of my efforts and achievements in the past years. And I take it also as an encouragement to perform better in the future."

ITTF Technical Committee chairman, Yao Zhenxu, and head of the operational department of the Peking University venue, Zhang Yan, were also awarded a special honor for their efforts in organizing the competitions.

(CCTV September 17, 2008)