from the playground in northeast china to the cba stage: the dream-chasing story of a chinese-african boy
2024-09-06
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xinhua news agency, changchun, september 6 (reporter jin jinxiu, li dian) dribbling, changing direction, breaking through, a dark-skinned figure leaped, the ball drew a perfect arc in the air and lightly went into the net. on the court, feng ao is the mvp of the whole court; off the court, he is a chinese-african mixed-race "funny" boy with a strong northeastern accent.
"so handsome!" feng ao watched the replay of the game excitedly and shared the joy of victory with his teammates. in the team, the nigerian-chinese mixed race is not only a talented rookie, but also the happy pill of everyone. with a dark complexion, he speaks fluent northeastern dialect; he is over two meters tall, with a cheerful, outgoing, and playful personality. all these "contrasting cuteness" make him a "group favorite" wherever he goes.
the picture shows feng ao. xinhua news agency"is the food good?" "are you tired from training?"... on the other end of the phone, feng ao's enlightenment teacher liu lei "nags" non-stop. liu lei is a basketball coach at the fourth middle school of changchun automobile economic and technological development zone, jilin province. two years ago, feng ao passed the xinjiang team's trial training, left liu lei's basketball club and his hometown in northeast china, and came to the northwest to join the team in the 2022 national u19 youth league. from then on, liu lei's calls came as scheduled every day, traveling thousands of miles to accompany the boy he watched grow up.
feng ao was born in changchun, jilin in 2006. by chance, he was recommended to liu lei's basketball team when he wanted to enroll in a football class. when they first met, this mixed-race boy with a slightly dark complexion and a flowery jacket caught liu lei's attention. "he's a good candidate." experience told him that this little boy, whose bone age was measured to be more than two meters tall, had "no problem" with his physical condition. so, feng ao, who was only 5 years old, became one of liu lei's youngest students.
the picture shows feng ao dribbling the ball during the game. xinhua news agencyunlike his colleagues who suggested training feng ao to be a striker, the experienced liu lei focused on developing his guard skills. "height is his advantage, but it cannot be his only advantage." in order to train feng ao, liu lei, who originally only taught junior and senior high school students, relaxed the recruitment conditions to third graders of elementary school, allowing feng ao, who was still in the first grade of elementary school at the time, to compete with brothers who were two years older than him. "director liu taught me how to win with my brain, not just with my size," feng ao recalled.
feng ao's parents were busy with work and sometimes could not accompany their child to play games, so liu lei took him with him and provided him with food and accommodation. the relationship between the master and apprentice was better than that between father and son, and liu lei simply recognized feng ao as his godson. with his experienced guidance and superb skills, this combination of "chinese adoptive father" and "mixed-blood son" gradually developed a tacit understanding and reputation.
in the 2016 jilin province northeast tiger club youth basketball championship, feng ao was the smallest player in the game. twenty seconds before the end of the game, he scored five points in a row to help the team win the game. that small figure and the arc drawn by the ball in the air are a silhouette that liu lei still talks about with great relish.
the picture shows feng ao dunking in the game. xinhua news agencyin 2022, the xinjiang youth team came to "recruit" feng ao, promising to train him according to liu lei's ideas and train him into the national youth team and cba first team in a short period of time. in 2023, feng ao helped the team win the men's final of the national u19 youth basketball league.
the boy has grown up and has a promising future. feng ao has now made his mark in major competitions, and liu lei's footprints have also been "chased" to all corners of the country along the schedule. every time feng ao scores, he and liu lei will bump fists in the air and smile at each other. "to become china's 'magic' johnson." this is the goal feng ao has set for himself and also a promise to his master liu lei.
"keep going, your dream-chasing story continues, and your legend has just begun." liu lei wrote in a message to cheer feng ao up.
