Blind athlete skipping way to success

A visually impaired athlete from Chongqing in southwestern China demonstrated determination and resilience at a recent national sports event where he challenged his own limits and broke a rope jumping record.

On Oct 23, 20-year-old Yang Hui redefined the meaning of "fast" when during the 30-second skipping class for visually impaired male contestants at the 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities, he skipped 196 times, 22 more than the silver medalist.

"I had no time to think while I was jumping rope," said Yang, adding that during training he once managed to skip 207 times in 30 seconds and 75 times in 10 seconds.

The champion is a recent graduate from the Chongqing Special Education Center and was also the winner of Team Chongqing's first gold medal at the event, which kicked off in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, on Oct 22.

Born in Xiushan county, Yang had a happy childhood with his parents and his elder brother until at the age of 8, he contracted uveitis, a potentially severe inflammation of the eye that can lead to blindness if not treated.

Unfortunately for Yang, the treatment he received did not work, so he gradually began to lose his eyesight. When he was 12, his family sent him to the Chongqing Special Education Center, a school for the visually impaired, where he started to train as a masseur.

Yang was still partially sighted when he arrived, and one day, he watched some of the older students play jump-rope.

"I was captivated by the way they moved, how their left and right feet skipped alternately," Yang said smiling, adding that he tried it for himself shortly afterward, jumping up and down with both feet together.

He lost his eyesight completely a year later but said that because he is a happy-go-lucky person, he did not dwell on it too much.

"When I was little, I used to watch TV series like Journey to the West and cartoons like Goat and the Big Big Wolf, so I knew what colors looked like. Losing that ability was a pity, but I managed," the fast-talking, lively young man said. "I'm strong and restless."

In 2016, Yang's talent for rope jumping was discovered by his coach Zhou Weilin, and he was chosen for the school team.

"He is a gifted athlete. He learns fast," said Zhou, who views rope jumping as a good sport for the visually impaired because it doesn't require a lot of space, and the ability to see is not as important once a certain level of skill has been attained.

Getting to that level, however, takes all kinds of training to improve coordination, positioning and accuracy of movement.

To overcome the challenge of being unable to see, Yang relied on Zhou and other visually impaired classmates to help him develop a feel for the correct movements and positioning, and to judge the angle and direction of the rope.

Eventually, he was good enough to compete and came fifth in the 2016 National Rope Jumping Championships for Persons with Visual Impairments.

When training, the slightly built young man, who is 1.65 meters tall and weighs around 64 kilograms, follows a strict schedule. As he was preparing to take part in the 11th National Games, for example, he skipped about 20,000 times a day for three months using both a heavy rope and an iron chain, and also did arm-strengthening exercises.

He trained intensively for seven hours a day, from 9 am to midday and then again from 2 pm to 6 pm, and he would skip in 40-second bursts with 80-second breaks in between, over and over again.

To date, Yang has won four medals: two during the 2017 and 2018 National Rope Jumping Championships for Persons with Visual Impairments, and two during the 10th and 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities.

"Rope jumping has really changed me," he said. "I used to be timid and nervous on stage, but now after several competitions, I can keep my cool."

The young man said that although he is proud to have won national titles, he doesn't take his success for granted and also longs for a normal life.

He currently works at a popular massage parlor in Chongqing's Nan'an district and said that he is planning to buy a house and marry his girlfriend in two years' time.

"But I'll keep on chasing my dreams," he said, adding that he hopes to break more records at future competitions.

In addition to his hope that rope-jumping competitions will become more popular in China, Yang is also looking forward to the sport eventually being included in the Paralympic Games. "Then I can win even more competitions," he said.

Coach Zhou expressed his admiration for athletes who compete with a disability.

"The disabled can also be extraordinary," the coach said. "Competing in sports can help them find their own worth in life's journey."