The fourth Asian Para Games will begin in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, on October 22. China will field 439 athletes, 221 of whom are male and 218 female, to compete in 397 events across all 22 sports. Each one of them has had to overcome various difficulties to appear in the pool, on the court, field, and track. What has been supporting them is their passion for sports and amazing willpower to chase their dreams.

Qian Hongyan, born in southwest China's Yunnan Province in 1996, lost her lower body in a traffic accident when she was four. She had to replace her legs with half a basketball to go to school.

Such misfortune could break anyone, but not Qian, who joined the provincial para swimming team when she was 11. Not only did she spend at least four hours practicing swimming every day, but she also exploited any time she could find to enhance her arm strength and ability to maintain balance.

Qian's efforts paid off, and she was recruited by the Chinese national para swimming team and will compete in the Para Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Hu Mingyao, 28, from Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, gained fame this year for resembling Satoru Gojo, a popular character from the Japanese manga 'Jujutsu Kaisen.' However, Hu wears a blindfold because he is a goalball player. His white hair comes from albinism, which not only gives him a pale appearance but also causes vision problems. He can barely perceive the movement of objects.

In goalball, players can't see anything and have to determine the ball's position using hearing and touch. That's why Hu, a dedicated player, often ends up with bruises all over his body after practice, as he is repeatedly hit by the ball.

Nonetheless, pain didn't stop Hu from finding his light in playing goalball. "I have grown more confident since I began to play goalball," he told China Media Group (CMG). "This year's Asian Para Games will happen at my home. I hope I can win a gold as a recognition of my efforts in all these years."

Hu's teammate Chen Liangliang is a very famous player of the sport with his signature move "whirlwind rolling" which only takes 0.3 seconds to leave his hand and go into the opponent's goal. He was the top scorer (17 goals) of the event in the Paralympics in Beijing in 2008 and made integral contributions to China's victory in the final by scoring six goals by himself against Lithuania.

Though Chen is already 39 years old, he doesn't seem even less energetic than his teammates. He is ready to repeat glory for his career and make his country proud again in Hangzhou.

When Zhao Meiling and Ding Xiaochao often work together in sitting volleyball practice, it looks like they are going against each other in the fiercest competition. In fact, they are a couple and met each other because of the sport.

After their daughter was born at the beginning of this year, Ding decided to skip the Asian Para Games so he could look after the kid and help Zhao prepare for the Games. Meanwhile, Ding worked as the training partner of both the men's and the women's teams, doing his best to help his wife realize her dream.

"I hope she performs well and go for the title," Ding told CMG. "I will prepare for the Paris Paralympics next year."

Source: CGTN

Editor: Xu Yuying