Young hoopster catches the eyes of CBA boss Yao
Print Edition
Despite seemingly being the busiest man in Chinese basketball, Yao Ming, the former Houston Rockets star and now president of the Chinese Basketball Association, came all the way to see a rural boy named Wang Lei while attending a basketball forum in Yinchuan, northwest China鈥檚 Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on Friday.
鈥淚 feel very happy, excited, joyful. My dream has been realized!鈥 said Wang.
For the 12-year-old boy, Yao is his hero. Several posters of Yao are put on the mottled wall of his bedroom, which keep motivating him to study hard and become a professional basketball player one day.
Yao knows Wang from the news. 鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting. I had a teammate also named Wang Lei when I was in the national team, and we participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games together,鈥 Yao said.
Wang lives at Wangmin, a mountain village of Xiji county in Ningxia. His hometown in Xihaigu was labeled the 鈥渕ost unfit place for human settlement鈥 by the United Nations in the 1970s.
People in Xiji still loved the sport very much despite not having a basketball stand or court. A village-level basketball competition usually attracts an audience of over 10,000.
Like Yao, Wang鈥檚 father is also a center of the village basketball team. Influenced by his father, Wang fell in love with the sport when he was six.
At the courtyard of Wang鈥檚 home, a basketball stands made from an iron ring, two long sticks, and three planks that kept him company throughout his childhood.
With a height of about 1.5 meters, Wang, standing aside, was no taller than his hero sitting, but adults in the village basketball team find it hard to stop his attack.
A video of Wang playing basketball with adults went viral online, which made the village boy famous, and he unexpectedly received a basketball with Yao鈥檚 autograph.
鈥淭o have a goal is of great significance. I hope you can figure out your goal when you study or play basketball,鈥 Yao encouraged Wang. 鈥淵ou need to make it clear what you want to be.鈥
鈥淚 will study hard and enter an excellent high school, then a good college, and become a professional basketball player after graduation,鈥 Wang told Yao.
As a grade-one student in Yuanhe Middle School, Wang plays basketball for over two hours on workdays and more than 10 hours on weekends. He has worn out over a dozen of basketballs and more than 20 pair of shoes.
Exiting poverty
Compared with his father, Wang is lucky. 鈥淚 used to be covered by dust when tapping the ball and running, but now the cemented floor is all around, and I won鈥檛 be choked any longer,鈥 said Wang.
Thanks to China鈥檚 poverty alleviation campaign, Xiji exited poverty in November last year. All the 295 villages benefitted from the Farmers鈥 Fitness Project and were installed with standard basketball stands and outdoor courts, with a per capita sports area reaching 2.2 square meters.
The old backboard standing in Wang鈥檚 courtyard was retired, and he has more places to practice his skills. He won the championship for his class last year.
Yuanhe Middle School now has over ten clubs, including a basketball club, and three professional PE teachers training students. Though known to his hero, Wang is far from complacent. 鈥淢y skill is still very poor,鈥 he sighed. 鈥淚 have to practice harder, and Yao has given me more strength.鈥
Yao said Wang represents a group. 鈥淲e should work harder to find more talents like him and deliver a positive lifestyle with practical measures.鈥
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