Chen Minyi said she likes archery because it suits her a lot as she is a quiet girl. But she also has a brave heart, which enables her to overcome a second blow in life to become a Paralympic Games champion.
The 33-year-old Chinese was born with handicap. Just as her father and brother, she could not walk because of the muscle weakness of her legs.
"I never thought I was extremely unlucky, but I did feel I was different to other kids when I was young," said Chen after defending her Paralympic champion title in Paris on Saturday.
But Chen felt fortunate when she was introduced to archery in 2009. "I found it suits me a lot, because I'm kind of a quiet person. Archery gives me the opportunity to immerse in my own world. The deeper I immerse myself, the better I perform. "
But the training was tedious. She always had sour arms and sometimes she could not fall asleep due to the pains. However, she never thought about walking away from the sport.
Chen progressed fast and became national champion after two years of training. But her promising life as a para athlete suffered a heavy blow due to a car accident in 2015.
"I stopped practicing archery for two years and did nothing during that period of time," said Chen who injured her left arm seriously. "I felt devastated and lost."
Thanks to a coach's advice, Chen resumed archery training and moved to another competition category.
The training was even harder. "The strength of my left arm was not as good as before. I felt the bow was much heavier."
Usually, Chen would practice six hours a day with around 300 arrows, six days a week. She dreamed of a holiday in Dali of Yunan, but she never complained the training day after day.
"Because of archery, I'm able to have a broader view of the world," said Chen. "My parents also encouraged me to go out. They said, 'don't be a frog in well'."
In Saturday's final, Chen played an upper hand since the first round against Sarka Musilova from the Czech Republic, the same opponent she met in the final at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
But the semifinal against the 64-year-old South Korean Kim Ok-geum did scare Chen.
"I knew our scores during the course and I knew we tied before the last arrow," said Chen. "For a moment, I did think I might lose but I kept telling myself 'don't give up'."
"I tried to adjust my breath and tell myself to keep calm," said Chen who shot a score of 9 with her last arrow while Kim failed to hit the target under pressure.
Chen said she cried on the podium in Tokyo and she was still emotional this time.
"My eyes were wet when I watched our national flag." Chen said she didn't pay much attention to the cheering crowd during the award ceremony, but focusing on the rising national flag.
"I almost cried when they played the national anthem. It's a big moment for me."
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