Overcoming Adversity with Resilience: The Inspirational Story of the ‘Basketball Girl’ Who Continues to Amaze.t

The story of little girl Tien Hong Diem (1996), from Luc Luong district, Yunnan province, southwest China has brought countless tears to readers near and far. In 2000, after a terrible car accident, the basketball girl lost her legs forever, and her poor family also struggled, completely devastated by the disaster that suddenly befell their young daughter. 4 years old.

“Woke up, I remember feeling my feet were very cold. I called my mother and asked her to put on my shoes. But she didn’t say anything. I only saw her tears falling and perhaps that was a moment I will never forget, nor That’s when I knew that in this life I had lost half of my body, from now on I no longer had to wear socks, shoes or even pants ,” Tien Hong Diem reviewed the sad memories of that year.

Because the family was too poor and could not afford to fit Hong Diem with a prosthetic leg, her grandfather cut a basketball and put his granddaughter in it, giving her two pieces of wood with handles, so she could Can move independently without the help of others. The ball helps Tien Hong Diem maintain balance and is a fulcrum to rest when tired. Every day, Tien Hong Diem walks to school. The school is 7 minutes from home but it took the little girl nearly 1 hour. Over the next 5 years, she replaced 8 basketballs.

In 2005, the image of a 9-year-old girl skillfully moving on a basketball spread everywhere and her unfortunate story also reached the ears of many people, making them both pity and admire her determination. The extraordinary of a small girl who is stronger than anyone.

Luckily, this popularity is also an opportunity to help her get closer to sponsors across the country who can help her situation. In 2007, Tien Hong Diem was sponsored to go to Beijing to get a prosthetic leg, something that had previously only appeared in their family’s dreams. And those first steps on those prosthetic legs also led Hong Diem to a journey that dramatically changed her fate in the years to come.

In 2007, after completing elementary school, Hong Diem was forced to put aside her educational path because her family was too difficult and did not have enough money to support her education. Unwilling to give in to the harsh fate, she signed up for the “South of Cloud” club – a national swimming club for people with disabilities.

At first, the deficiency in the lower half of her body made learning to swim very difficult for Tien Hong Diem, she could not float or move in the water. However, with a strong will, Tien Hong Diem practiced diligently, swimming 10,000m every day for 4 hours. To become an athlete, she must try many times harder than others.

Through relentless training, Tien Hong Diem became a potential swimmer and a bright star representing China in sports competitions for people with disabilities. Tien Hong Diem’s ​​extraordinary efforts to overcome her fate made many people admire and admire.

However, she encountered a big shock when her grandfather suddenly passed away right before the Paralympic qualifiers in 2011. This greatly affected Hong Diem’s ​​competitive spirit and she only won 1 bronze medal, cannot continue into the next round.

Pressured by not being able to satisfy fans’ expectations, Tien Hong Diem returned to her hometown. She herself admitted that becoming famous too early gave her many opportunities but also brought a lot of pressure.

After 3 years of adjusting her mood, in September 2014, the “basketball girl” returned and won the championship at the 2014 Paralympics in the 100m breaststroke category. When asked why she loved and decided to stick with swimming, Hong Diem said: “After school, other students can run and play, but I can’t. But when I’m in the swimming pool I am the same as everyone else, and this is the reason why I like swimming.”

After 20 years of persistent efforts and reaping many prestigious awards in swimming, in 2019, the “basketball girl” retired and kept her dream of becoming a coach to help many athletes with disabilities. other disabilities.