ALTHOUGH born almost blind in one eye and nearly deaf in one ear, Shanghai woman Xu Lijia has never let this stand in the way of her dreams, which saw her this summer become China's first Olympic gold medalist in boat sailing.

When talking about her achievements, Xu downplays her eyesight and hearing impairments.

"My eyes and ears are OK, not as bad as reported in the media. I live like a normal person. My poor hearing makes me focus more on what I do and my eyesight doesn't affect me much," Xu told Shanghai Daily.

"In fact, my poor hearing helps me when at sea as I can totally focus on my boat without being distracted by the sound of the wind and waves."

The 25-year-old, who was China's flag bearer in the closing ceremony of the London Olympics, was born in an ordinary Shanghai family and started swimming at the age of four. But she realized that her dreams were bigger than a swimming pool when introduced to sailing six years later; the sea became her stage.

Just a year after she started sailing, Xu won the 1998 Chinese National Championships in the women's Optimist class sailing. A year later, she won the Asia championship. And then two years after that, Xu became world champion at the age of 14.

"It sounds like a very smooth process but I put in a lot of effort," she told Shanghai Daily. "Sailing is mentally and physically challenging."

Xu later moved to the higher Laser Radial class, which was included to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In the Beijing Games, Xu won the bronze medal in the event. She said she had been nervous competing in her first Olympics, otherwise the result could have been even better.

Four years later in London, Xu had her sights fixed firmly on gold, and overcame nerves to enjoy the competition.

"At the beginning, I was a little overwhelmed by all the pressure and didn't made a great start."

But Xu did some soul-searching, and returned to produce a winning performance. The night before the final round, Xu vowed to give her best performance on this great stage.

"I just needed to give my all, have no regrets and enjoy the moment. Then no matter what the result is, I would accept it. But if I lost just because of nerves, I wouldn't forgive myself," she said.

Xu returned to the water the next day and everything fell into place. Her boat and the water became as one as the Shanghai sailor went for gold.

So focused was Xu that she did not even realize that at one stage she was trailing two other competitors following penalties, said her coach Liu Xiaoma.

"I gave my best performance of the past 15 years in this most important race," she said.

Xu said fellow competitors were generous in their praise following her winning performance.

"My rivals did not just simply congratulate me but wholeheartedly appreciated my performance, and that feeling was great. Sailing is not only my job but has now become part of my life."

Xu's historic victory saw her chosen as China's flag bearer at the closing ceremony in London over other champions such as table tennis player Zhang Jike and diver Wu Minxia.

"I was very surprised and honored to be chosen as flag bearer. It was also a good chance to promote sailing in China and let more people know about the sport, perhaps give it a try and maybe fall in love with it - as I did," she said.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't that familiar with the English songs at the closing ceremony, whereas many foreign competitors were and could follow the rhythm. But I did enjoy it very much."

After coming back from London, Xu, among the Chinese Olympic delegation, was congratulated by President Hu Jintao in Beijing.

"I just said I'm a sailor from Shanghai and I won gold for China. He smiled at me and I think he said 'keep up the good work'," Xu said.

Xu's path from child sailor to Olympic gold medalist has not been as smooth as it seems. When only 12, she was caught in a storm 16 kilometers out at sea while training with her coach and teammates. The wind was blowing at more than 20 meters per second and the boats were tossed by 17-meter high waves, Xu recalled.

"It was very stormy and the coach couldn't help us because his boat had capsized. We had to sail back by ourselves, so we kept close and encouraged each other. After three hours, we finally reached shore," Xu said.

"At that time I wasn't experienced in dealing with dangerous situations, but keeping safe is the top priority and I learned from it."

Xu faced another trial when at the age of 15, a tumor on her leg almost ended her sailing career. Xu said she had felt knee pain after training and an X-ray revealed a tumor on her left leg. But even this setback was used positively by the young sailor.

"It forced me to rest for a year," Xu said. "But it was not until then that I realized I loved the sport and couldn't live without it. I decided then to make sailing my career."

While sailing is Xu's passion, it's not her only interest. She enjoys self-study and taught herself English - reaching a level where she can speak almost fluently.

"I learn English through self-study because I think it's a very important tool for not only improving my career, my sport, but also for daily life as well, so I can make friends worldwide," Xu said.

"For sailing, I learn the terminology and the rules. This proved very useful when I attended a race appeal hearing and I could speak for myself. Previously, I had to rely on a translator who didn't know sailing very well, which put me at a big disadvantage."

Xu - who sometimes uses the name Lily - worked her way through English course books and dictionaries until she mastered the language.

"I started learning English in 2002, working through the four books in the New Concept English series," she said. "It took me about eight years to finish them and since then I've had no problems communicating with international judges and other foreigners."

In her spare time, Xu likes to get on the Internet and read books. Reading is her biggest hobby.

"I treasure this time after a tiring day of training and racing," she said. "When I'm sailing, I become very strong and very open. But when I'm by myself, I become quieter. I just feel like I need some quiet time to recover, physically and mentally."

"Another reason I was so determined to learn English was to know more about sailing, and to do this I've bought a lot of English sailing books. Sometimes, I also like to read novels. It's interesting and relaxing."

As well as reading, Xu likes to watch American television series, where she can relax and pick up English at the same time.

"I haven't watched many in recent months because training occupied most of my time. But I used to watch 'Friends,' 'Prison Break' and '24.' And I want to pick up 'Gossip Girls' again," she laughed. "Yeah, I'm going to finish it and the last season of 'Desperate Housewives'," Xu vowed.

This month with the new semester beginning, Xu will pick up her classes again at Shanghai Jiao Tong University to finish her undergraduate degree in industry and business administration.

"I want to finish my college studies. It's been six years since I started at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, but I still haven't completed my degree - shame on me! But with the Games over I have more time, so I can concentrate on my studies for about six months before going back to sailing."

Although only in her mid-20s, Xu already has a plan for after retirement - with sailing very much part of it.

"After retirement I plan to first go to the International Sailing Federation to become an international judge or official so I can promote the sport more, not only in China but elsewhere in Asia."

"I've already passed a test in some of the seminars. What I need to collect is experience as a judge. Afterwards, I would like to sit on the International Olympic Committee - that would be fantastic."

But despite all her achievements and targets, Xu said sailing itself comes before these.

"I feel very honored to have finally achieved my dream goal. But the most important thing for me is the joy of sailing a boat on the open sea."

Xu hopes that with her efforts, sailing will become more popular with young people in China.

"When my first coach introduced me to sailing, I just fell in love with it. I think it's much more interesting than swimming. In swimming you just go to and fro in a pool. Sailing's much more fun because you have a lot to think about: what the day's weather is; the direction the wind's blowing in; and the current in the course area. All these things you must consider, then make a decision on which course you want to follow and which point you want to take," she said.

Having overcome obstacles to become an Olympic gold medalist, Xu has advice to offer anyone with a goal. "Follow your interests and chase your dream. So long as you love doing something, you will find it easy to put all your efforts into it and you will have achievements," she said.

Profile

Name: Xu Lijia

Nickname: Lily

Birthday: August 30, 1987

Birthplace: Shanghai

Height: 1.76 meters

Sport event: Women's Laser Radial Sailing

Honors:

Gold in 2012 London Olympics Bronze in 2008 Beijing Olympics

Gold in 2006 Los Angeles World Championships

Runner-up in 2008 Auckland and 2012 Boltenhagen World Championships