Reaching Beyond Limit

By WANG HAIRONG

Reaching Beyond Limit

By WANG HAIRONG

Athletes defy the boundaries posed by their physical conditions to compete at the 2010 Asian Para Games in Guangzhou

Guangzhou was a milestone in the life of many disabled athletes. To them, the 2010 Asian Para Games in the capital city of China’s Guangdong Province meant much more than medals.

Under the slogan of “We Cheer, We Share and We Win,” the Games highlighted the power of disabled athletes.

“Athletes showed extreme courage and determination in reaching the starting line,and would inspire millions of others by crossing the finish line,” said Dato’ Zainal Abu Zarin, President of the Asian Paralympic Committee at the Games opening ceremony on December 12.

“We will share in the ecstasy of victory, not only in those who win medals but of all those competitors who have made it here tonight. Just by being in Guangzhou as athletes you can count yourself a winner, a hero and a role model for others,” he said.

More than 2,500 athletes from 41 countries and regions competed in the Games from December 13 to December 19.

In addition, more than 2,000 officials,1,100 technical persons, 2,000 journalists and 300 VIPs from the Paralympic community took part.

The stories of many participants are inspiring to disabled athletes and the general public.

Lifting the weight off life

Rasool Mohsin of Iraq won the gold medal in the men’s 56-kg powerlifting on December 14. He also broke the Asian record for this event by lifting 195 kg.

The 23-year-old Mohsin lost one leg when he was a child. Although tormented by disability, he has a strong body and mind. He made a living by selling nuts on the street.Everyday, he pulled a 90-kg iron cart loaded with nuts.

Mohsin’s brother, impressed with his extraordinary strength, encouraged him to go into sport. Mohsin began to practice weightlifting four years ago. Due to the war in Iraq,his life was not stable. Though he often had to change training sites to dodge warfare,Mohsin won a silver during the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.

Mohsin said he would like to dedicate his medal in the Guangzhou Games to his brother, who died in a car bombing four years ago. He said that he was glad that he gradually walked out of the shadows in his life. Powerlifting has turned him into a more con fi dent and happier person, he added.

Never too old to start anew

Chinese shooter Ru Decheng, 48, was elated to win a gold medal in Guangzhou on December 14.

Ru was born in a village in Xinxiang,Henan Province. His right leg was handicapped by polio when he was 1.

After finishing high school, Ru worked as a doctor in the countryside. Through distance learning, he managed to complete medical courses at the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Ru got married and has two sons. The younger son suffered from cerebral palsy. His wife also suffered from a bone disease called osteonecrosis of the femoral head.

In 1998, Ru, already 36 years old, saw a newspaper advertisement on recruiting disabled athletes. Because he was good at slingshot, Ru signed up.

After one year of training, Ru won a gold medal in provincial games for the disabled.He later entered the national team, and competed in international games.

After winning gold at the 2010 Asian Para Games, Ru said that he would continue to offer medical service to his fellow villagers.

Playing for the top

Another star at the Asian Para Games is Japan’s Shingo Kunieda. He is currently No.1 in the International Tennis Federation’s world wheelchair tennis singles ranking.

Kunieda, born in 1984, was an active child who enjoyed many sports, especially baseball. He played competitively starting in second grade, and dreamed of becoming a baseball player.

But his dream was smashed when he was just 8. He was diagnosed with spinal cancer and was paralyzed after surgery. He has lived in a wheelchair since then.

Despite his poor physical condition,Kunieda actively engaged himself in a normal school life. He participated in physical education classes and played all sports, including soccer, with other classmates.

Kunieda started to play tennis at age 11,with his able bodied friends. He rose to World No.1 in little more than half the time it takes for able-bodied tennis players to reach their peak performance.

He has two Paralympic gold medals to his name, one in the men’s doubles, together with Satoshi Saida at the Athens Games in 2004,and another in the men’s singles competition at the Beijing Games in 2008.

Kunieda believes his success in wheelchair tennis can inspire other disabled people and encourage them to take up the sport. “I think today many young disabled people dream to play wheelchair tennis. They see that if you are the number one wheelchair tennis player you have a nice life,” he once told the press.

Quick Facts

● The Asian Para Games featured 19 sports: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boccia, Cycling, Football 5-a-side, Football 7-a-side, Goalball, Judo, Powerlifting, Rowing,Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis,Ten Pin Bowling, Volleyball (sitting),Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Fencing, Wheelchair Tennis.

● This year is the first time the Asian Para Games were held immediately after the Asian Games. The Asian Para Games stem from the Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled (FESPIC Games),which was created in 1975.

● China hosted the sixth FESPIC in Beijing in September 1994. The last FESPIC Games were held in November 2006 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Jumping out of darkness

China’s Li Duan won a gold medal in the men’s long jump F11 with 5.96 meters in the Guangzhou Games.

Li was once a forward on the national youth basketball team and was a well-known slam-dunk champion. Li dreamed of becoming China’s Michael Jordan.

He started playing basketball when he was fi ve. His mother, who was once a basketball player, pinned strong hopes on him to become a basketball star.

An accident in 1996 took away his eyesight completely and his basketball dream.The next year, he lost his father to cancer. Li,barely 20, toughened himself up to comfort his mother and younger brother.

Though life closed a door for him, it opened a new window, Li said. One year after he lost eyesight, Li started training as a long jumper at a Shenyang-based sports university.

Now, Li has lived in darkness for 14 years. His strenuous efforts over the years were rewarded by a gold medal in the 1999 FESPIC Games and several gold medals at the Paralympic Games.

At the 2008 Paralympic Games, he jumped 13.71 meters, 0.24 meter farther than a 10-yearold world record set by a Spanish athlete.