by Xinhua writers Gao Zun, Hu Huhu and Liu Xinyu

URUMQI, July 9 (Xinhua) -- At the age of 50, Du Baozhu gave up his old job as a bailiff in his hometown and moved to a small city more than 3,000 km away to start a new career as a field hockey coach for primary school students.

In retrospect, the decision Du made seven years ago was by no means easy, as he had to quit the job he had been doing for over two decades and strived to popularize field hockey in a place where the sport had been largely unheard of.

Du, 57, hails from the Daur autonomous banner of Morin Dawa, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where field hockey is a popular sport among the local Daur ethnic group. The veteran hockey player served on China's national men's field hockey team in the late 1980s and represented the Inner Mongolia regional team to win a national title in the early 1990s.

Du returned to Morin Dawa to work as a bailiff after retiring from professional sport in 1993. Just when everyone thought the former top athlete had turned the page on his hockey career, he made a mind-boggling decision in 2014 to move to Tacheng, a border city in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to promote field hockey among primary school students there.

Du said he came up with the plan after his first visit to the Daur autonomous township of Axir under Tacheng City in 2010.

"I was surprised to find that though Axir and Morin Dawa both have a considerable Daur population, the Axir locals barely knew anything about the most popular sport in Morin Dawa," he recalled. "Also, I saw the kids in Axir were natural hockey players, very strong and agile. They rekindled my passion for the sport."

Du formed Tacheng's first-ever field hockey team in a local primary school soon after he and his wife moved to the city. Yet, the first step is always the hardest.

"At the beginning, many of the students' parents, who had never heard of the sport before, thought playing hockey was a total waste of time," he said.

The lack of standard hockey fields and equipment was an even bigger challenge than the parents' misunderstanding. At first, Du and the students had to play hockey on a concrete floor with second-hand sticks and protective gear.

Much to Du's delight, the students quickly fell in love with the sport despite all the difficulties. "They always asked me for additional practice after the training sessions so that they could improve their skills and take part in national competitions," he said. "Their passion for the sport inspired me a lot during the hard times."

The hard work paid off rather quickly. Du's team claimed a title in the national junior field hockey championship in 2016, barely two years after the players took up the sport.

"After we won the championship, parents have been eager to send their kids to my team," Du said proudly.

To date, Du has introduced hockey to over 200 local students. About 20 of them now play for professional hockey teams at various levels.

"Maybe one day some of them can participate in the Olympics," he said.

Du said he is glad that playing hockey has allowed his players to travel to other places of the country, broadened their horizons, and provided them with more career choices.

"More importantly, they have learned to face challenges bravely and shoulder responsibility. Whether or not they choose hockey as their career, they will be much more prepared for the future," he added. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)