Despite having cerebral palsy, 33-year-old Hung Chang-chih (洪長志) has overcome his physical difficulties through his interest in the sport of boccia and has found himself a new path in life.
Due to a lack of oxygen when he was born, Hung developed severe cerebral palsy and multiple handicaps, as well as speech impairment.
Not only could he neither stand nor walk, but he could not bend his arms due to muscle tension.
Photo: Chiu Shao-wen, Taipei Times
Hung first encountered Boccia a decade ago, when the Yang Ming Home for the Disabled introduced the sport over a decade ago.
Boccia is a precision ball sport contested at local, national and international levels by athletes with severe physical disabilities.
The sport was originally designed to be played by people with cerebral palsy, but now includes athletes with other severe disabilities that affect their motor skills.
A sport recognized by the Paralympics, it requires very little body movement to propel the balls, which are thrown, kicked or put on tracks, so that they land as near as possible to the original white ball, or “jack.”
Team coach Hou Wei-ling (侯瑋玲) said that it had been difficult for Hung to even raise the 275g boccia ball and she never expected Hung to gain an interest in the sport, which was introduced at the home as part therapy and part entertainment for the residents.
Though the rules are simple enough, games can be quite difficult in practice, especially for more than 10 players with varying degrees of disabilities to understand and implement, Hou said, adding that it had taken the home the better part of a year to convey all the rules to its residents and another to train the residents how to land their balls closer to the target.
“[Hung] is not the most accurate or the best suited to play, but he is the one who wants to win the most,” Hou said.
Hung won his first championship in the national mentally and physically handicapped competition in 2008 at the solo BC1 level, but it has taken him six years to adjust to compete against players with less severe disabilities after his promotion to the BC2 level.
BC1 and BC2 are categorizations of boccia, with BC1 meaning athletes may compete with the aid of an assistant who must stay outside the player zone, but who may help stabilize the playing chair and hand the player the ball upon request.
Hung participated in a national boccia event in Greater Tainan in May, where he won his second championship and NT$180,000 (US$6,006) in prize money, despite developing pains in his arms from practicing too much, which necessitated a week-long rest.
Yang Ming Home for the Disabled’s health division director Chen Wei-sheng (陳威勝) said the competition had continued for three consecutive days, with one round held in the morning and afternoon every day.
“Hung was not favored at the outset, but when athletes dropped out one by one due to fatigue, he stayed on the court due to his ability to handle psychological stress better,” Chen said.
The Yang Ming Home for the Disabled said Hung’s family was not well off, and that he and his three sisters all relied on the income brought in by the betel nut stand their parents ran.
Though he spent most of his days at the home, his father would always pick up Hung during holidays, despite the lack of facilities at home, it added.
Hung’s father, who is more than 60 years old, was content to express his love for his son even if he had to carry him up and down the stairs at home every week.
Hung’s mother, Lee Yu-lan (李玉蘭), became teary-eyed when recounting how her son grew up.
“In the earlier days, the public was still uninformed about handicapped children, and we are thankful that the Yang Ming Home for the Disabled existed to give our child professional education with such patience,” Lee said.
Lee added that she was thankful that the home sought to open different avenues to the children in their care, ranging from teaching them computer skills to dancing and boccia.
“It does not matter where one starts. It is the process of how one conquers the difficulties between where they started and where they end up,” Yang Ming Home for the Disabled director You Yi-chun (尤詒君) said.
“Hung’s efforts and determination to stick to his chosen path should be commended and are inspiring,” You said.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
RSS