Para Games Faces

Dong seeks more support for shuttlers

By Tang Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-20 07:58

GUANGZHOU - The members of the Chinese disabled badminton team never expected to have so many fans cheering for them at the Asian Para Games, however their coach wants even more support.

Ten years after his retirement, Dong Jiong, the former world No 1, has returned to the courts and wants to draw more public attention and support for his players.

"The presence of large audiences was a great encouragement for them, and they couldn't be more happy to have people cheering for them," said the 37-year-old.

"But the whole society should pay more attention and respect to the disabled."

With little experience at the international level, all the Chinese players hoped to see the national flag raised on home soil, but some failed to play their best due to the pressure of international competition and their inexperience.

"The performance of the paralyzed players from Indonesia, Malaysia and Korea was no less competitive than their normal athletes, but who can find anything similar between the Chinese disabled and normal players?" said Dong. "I hope more famous players will take part in coaching the disabled after retiring to help them improve."

The Chinese badminton team started preparing for the Asian Para Games in August. Although the team comprised amateur players who took up badminton as a hobby, the squad went through a demanding training regimen.

All the while, coach Dong slowly learnt how to mentor paralyzed players from their perspective; such as practicing in a wheelchair to find out the most effective way for them to play.

"It's really hard to play badminton when you need to move the wheelchair at the same time," Dong said. "But I wanted to make them believe they could succeed after watching me play well in a wheelchair."

The coach never knew there was a national badminton championship for the disabled until a deaf girl asked to practice at his club in 2007.

A year after his retirement, in 2000, Dong set up his own badminton club in Beijing. After devoting his time to promoting the sport among teenagers for six years, Dong found there was another group of people greatly in need of help.

"All the players were healthy teenagers in my club when a mother brought her deaf child to me," he said.

"The girl left two months later because no child took the initiative to communicate with her," said Dong, who learnt there were badminton teams and tournaments for the disabled from the girl's mother.

From then on, Dong started to participate in various disabled sports meets to get a better understanding of paralyzed athletes.

"There is still a lot of work for me to do in the future," Dong said. "The Asian Para Games is just a beginning."

China Daily