Sound catcher from darkness

The 22-year-old Chen Fengqing, a goalball player who is competing in the 7th Chinese National Games for the Disabled, told her story in a smooth tone¹. For a blind athlete like Chen, the most beautiful thing is her endless love for the sound, which comes from a special ring inside the ball.

A born blind, Chen found it hard to go to any ordinary school other than a special one for the blind children when she was a little girl. Fortunately a primary school at her hometown of Yunnan enrolled² her, since then she has been studying by listening. She went to a blind school for massage³ skills at 17, before being picked up by the Yunnan goalball team.

"It is the turning point of my life," said Chen, "At first I had to train for 10 hours a day, a tedious⁴ daily training of catching⁵ the ball and throwing it. Many players could not bear such a boring life. But I found it a little bit strange that I could even taste the joy."

The joy comes from the soothing⁶ sound, which means everything to the girl. "My job is catching the special sound, falling to the ground and standing⁷ up once and again. My right elbow hurts a lot and the bone was broken to pieces. It was so painful, but when the sound rang I suddenly felt at ease⁸ from the bottom of my heart."

The tinkling⁹ sound guides the girl to the goal, like a fairy flying over the field. "She tells me that happiness is in the running and in your own hands. Those who gave up the sport just couldn't understand and appreciate the beautiful sound."

It's paradoxical that the girl on the one hand hopes thousands of spectators¹⁰ watch them play the goalball, but wants neither cheer nor applause¹¹ on the other, because those noises may mess with the sound, the key of the sport and the road to her world.

"I will totally lose direction without the sound, fall into pitch darkness and feel the distance between those healthy people and me like oceans apart."

"I'm lucky, because I can hear it. It's clear and touchable. Even if I might not hear it anymore in the future, I'm sure I can still find it somewhere else. "

Chen is afraid of being asked "Don't you feel painful?", "Don't you feel regret?", but has no envy of those healthy people.

"It's great to see the colorful world, but does it mean happiness? I've heard stories of violence and cheats from those healthy friends... I think they just can't hear the sound from heart."

Chen was selected into the national team in 2004 and won a silver at the World Championship, and a gold at the Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled as well.

"It's the life I choose, and many blind athletes choose it. I'll keep on pursuing¹² the tinkling sound and catch it."