Meet China's 'Basketball Girl': An incredible story of how a young woman who lost her legs in a traffic accident fought against the odds to become champion swimmer
- Qian Hongyan from Yunnan became the face of disability in China in 2005
- She lost both legs in 2000 aged just four and had to walk with a basketball
- With no future in education, she started swimming and became a champion
- Determined Qian has won a number of gold medals in China in recent years
- Her inspirational story made her a young role model for China's disabled
A
young Chinese girl's journey to create a future for herself, despite
losing both legs in a tragic accident, has become the story that
inspired thousands of disable people in China.
Qian
Hongyan, from Yunnan, south west China, made the headlines in 2005 when
she was photographed 'walking' with the help of a basketball.
Today, that same young woman is a champion swimmer with Paralympic dreams.
In 2009, the determined girl became a national champion in the Chinese National Paralympics Swimming Competition.
Last September, she won another gold medal in the 100m breaststroke final in the Yunnan Provincial Paralympic Games.
Qian Hongyan from Yunnan, pictured aged 10, lost her legs in 2000 after a car accident that nearly took her life
She became the face of disability after a series of images captured her walking with a basketball support
Above, she is aged 16, at the Yunzhinan Swimming Club where she trains daily in different swimming styles
At 11, the girl talks to a doctor at China Rehabilitation Center in Beijing in 2007 after receiving her new legs
In 2013, Qian Hongyan, 18, prepares for a new set of prosthesis at China Rehabilitation Centre in Beijing
A
four-year-old Qian Hongyan had both of her legs amputated after getting
into an accident in 2000 where she nearly lost her life.
Her family were extremely impoverished. They farmed and produced silk for a meager living.
Accord to People's Daily Online, with little resources available, her grandfather resorted to cutting up an old basketball to replace of her lower body.
The little girl learnt to 'walk' on her hands by supporting her entire upper body using wooden pads with handles.
The basketball helped her to balance and provided a platform to rest on when she got tired.
Young Qian Hongyan's grandfather created the basketball support to help her walk and play with friends
She started learning to swim in 2007 after realising she had no future in education but was good at the sport
Extremely impoverished, Qian's family farm as well as produces silk for a living. Above, she is with her mum
She spent many years of her childhood being dubbed the 'Basketball Girl' by locals as a result.
In 2005, Qian Hongyan's incredible hardship caught the widespread attention of Chinese, and later, international media.
For
China, where disability is almost never discussed, this became a
talking point. It also became a turning point in the then ten-year-old
girl's life.
With
the help and support of donations, she was given the chance to travel
more than 1,600 miles to Beijing and be fitted with her first pair of
legs.
Every
step of her journey became a newsworthy story that not only revealed a
little of Qian Hongyan's life but also highlighted the plight of living
with disability in China.
16-year-old Qian Hongyan climbs onto a diving platform at Yunzhinan Swimming Club for the handicapped
She then leaps off the platform and into the water. She was said to be training for the Paralympics at the time
Unfortunately she was only able to get a bronze medal during the qualifing race and didn't get to London 2012
Then another blow came in 2007.
Through donations, Qian Hongyan was able to attend and finish primary school.
However, according to Xinhua news,
she was faced with the reality that her family simply did not have
enough money to allow her to continue her education beyond the age of
11.
While most people would be disheartened by the dashed hope of a future, Qian Hongyan set out to create her own destiny.
She
returned to Yunnan where she was encouraged to join South of the Cloud,
a local swim team for people with disability and one of the first of
its kind in China.
Qian Hongyan's high amputation made swimming particularly difficult.
She revealed in an interview with China Daily: 'It seemed there was no way I could float in the water. I always choked.'
But she really put her heart into the sport.
When she first started swimming, it was almost impossible and she couldn't float or swim in one direction
However, with determination, she soon started winning medals at national competitions around the country
Reflecting on this early period of her career, Qian Hongyan revealed that she had no concept of competition
Within
a few years, she was winning gold medals at national competitions and
had dreams of representing China in the Paralympics in London 2012.
In
2009, Qian made headlines again by winning one gold medal and two
silver medals in the Chinese National Paralympics Swimming Competition.
She harvested another three silver medals in the same national competition in the following year.
In 2011, just ahead of the Paralympic qualifiers, Qian Hongyan's grandfather died.
She managed to win a bronze medal in the race but it wasn't enough to get her on the team.
Feeling dejected, she avoided the public eye for a while and returned home, where her younger brothers welcomed her like a hero.
After a brief respite, Qian Hongyan returned to training and, as in the past, continued to win medals.
With regards to her Paralympic aspirations, she seems less certain.
She revealed in a Xinhua profile
of her in 2014 that she didn't have a concept of what a competition was
when she told reporters that she wanted to be a Paralympian.
Afterwards, she realised that the aspiration came too early and gave her too much pressure.
However, nothing is impossible for a willing heart.
In
September 2014, Qian won the 100m breaststroke final during the Yunnan
Provincial Paralympic Games, which put her and her incredible life
stories back in the spotlight.
It
seems that Qian has turned her eventful childhood into a life filled
with inspiration and incredible strength. One that few in China could
live to match. And one of determination.
Above, Qian Hongyan is at home with her father. She also has two younger brothers who look up to her bravery
When she is at home, she uses a wheelchair although sometimes her mother, above, carries her for ease
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