Tian Longbing, 52, will take part in his eighth Chinese National Paralympic Games between October 22 and 29 in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

He will compete in discus, javelin and shot put on behalf of Hubei Province. 

"An elliptic green grassland surrounded by rubberized, artificial running surface, I will never forget how it (a track and field ground) looks like," Tian told Xinhua News Agency, though the last time he saw one was 28 years ago.

Tian lost his sight to injury during basketball practice in 1989. He had been a great athlete before that and won the national Greco-Roman wrestling men's 74 kilogram title when he was 20.

He refused to accept the fact that he couldn't see anymore at the beginning and locked himself at home for a long time. "I didn't know what to do as a blind man. I thought my life was over," said Tian.

Sports put him back onto the right track in 1995 when the organizing committee of the National Paralympic Games in Hubei reached out to him and suggested that he try blind judo.

"It was much more difficult to train after losing my sight. But I felt like I could see the world again. Sports gave me the light," said Tian. He won the blind judo silver medal for China at the Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia in 2000.

Having aged and realized that his body was not suitable for judo in the following years, Tian turned to discus, javelin and shot put because he wanted to continue his athletic career.

"I was a total stranger to all three events. I saw others do them before but I had never learnt myself. Each of them requires different skills. It's quite hard when I began to practice," Tian told Xinhua. 

He had to work hard because he could not see the techniques his coaches were trying to teach him. But eventually, practice made perfect. Tian improved his performance to the elite level and has won medals at various events, both domestic and international.

"I have never considered retiring. As long as I can still throw, I will keep throwing," said Tian.