A handicapped tailoress has become a professional athlete, a welder has become a Southeast Asian weightlifting champion and a farmer has won six successive golds at national athletics tournaments. Such stories are actual. They’ve happened at Vinh Hai Sports Club, Nha Trang...
A handicapped tailoress has become a professional athlete, a welder has become a Southeast Asian weightlifting champion and a farmer has won six successive golds at national athletics tournaments. Such stories are actual. They’ve happened at Vinh Hai Sports Club, Nha Trang.
New page of life
Visiting Vinh Hai Sports Club at 2pm one day, we saw handicapped athletes practicing hard for the coming national sports competitions for the handicapped.
Of the seven handicapped athletes here, six are suffering from leg paralysis and the other has hand paralysis. Surprisingly, they were weightlifting very professionally.
Le Thi Anh Nga, born in 1994, coming from Cam Lam District, confided us, “My legs went paralyzed since I was four months old because of a malignant fever. During my primary school time, dragging legs to school was my sheer torture. My life had been pessimistic till I met Mr. Quang Nhat Manh by chance. He encouraged me to play sports at Vinh Hai Sports Club. Playing sports makes me happier. Only three months later, I won a gold medal at the national sports event for handicapped people.”
Dinh Thi Nga, another handicapped athlete, added, “I consider this club as my family. Since 2004 when Mr. Manh took me to weightlifting, my life has turned over a new page. Now, I no more feel a complex about my unlucky situation. I’ve got some achievement in sports.”
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| Dinh Thi Nga practising hard. |
Dinh Thi Nga, 42, won a bronze medal at 2006 World Weightlifting Championships, a silver at 2007 Asian Weightlifting Championship and a gold at Para Games 3 in 2008.
Happiness comes after success
To reach such successes in sports, all the handicapped show great gratitude to Coach Quang Nhat Manh. All of them were unlucky and unhappy before and Manh discovered and brought them to professional sports, changing their life. He not only doesn’t charge them any fee, but support them VND250,000 each month for nutrition.
Coming to sports by chance but the athletes are determined to reach victories, Manh said.
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| Athletes exchanging in break. |
Moreover, the handicapped people have found happy family from here.
“Joining
Another handicapped man named Nguyen Thanh Xuan, from Dien Lam Commune, Dien Khanh District, confided, “Invalid so I was afraid of love. I’ve come to the center for 4 years and won 5 national gold medals and another gold at Para Games. Now, I have a girlfriend. We are planning very much for the future.”
Nothing is impossible
Before becoming a professional athlete, Le Thi Anh Nga was a tailoress, Nguyen Anh Xuan worked as a welder and Truong Tan Hien was a real farmer. Each person had a plight but they shared complex of invalidity.
However, they have become leading athletes of the country. The athletes always think that nothing is impossible. Le Thi Anh Nga confirmed strongly, “
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Sports has brought the unlucky but energetic people much. Each medal is their proud effort and foundation for them to try more both in sports and life. 2012 Sports Festival is coming near. It will be an opportunity for the handicapped athletes conquer new achievement in their sports career.
T.T
