Following more than one week of fierce competition with a tight schedule at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, Chinese para cross-country skier Yang Hongqiong, who surprisingly clinched three gold medals, can finally get some relaxation during quarantine time.

"I will take advantage of this period to improve myself from a spiritual aspect by reading some books and learning something online," Yang told CGTN.

Looking back on her experience in the world's biggest arena for para athletes, the 32-year-old said it's just like a dream she is reluctant to wake up from.

I never expected to win a gold medal

Yang competed in three events in her first Paralympic experience – long distance, middle distance and sprint sitting – and won gold in all of them. 

"To be frank, I didn't expect to win a gold medal. I'm not saying that I wasn't ambitious or confident," said the gold medalist, explaining that she learned earlier that there were quite a few tough opponents, such as American star Oksana Masters.

"I heard that even many male athletes couldn't defeat her," she said.

But her performance said it all. On March 6, she finished the 15-kilometer race in 43 minutes, 6.7 seconds, about 32 seconds ahead of Masters.

"My mind just went blank at the moment. I accepted that I won the gold medal some time after I went back to my room," Yang said.

She told CGTN that she felt a lot calmer in the following competitions, and the harvest of two more medals was "far beyond my expectations."

As the para athlete with the most gold medals for Team China, Yang was chosen as flagbearer for the closing ceremony. She described it as a surprise, an honor and recognition from the country.

"As the volunteer accompanied me to the stadium entrance, he helped me tie the national flag to my wheelchair. I asked him to make sure it's upright, and not crooked one bit," Yang said, adding that she was trying to wave the flag as many others did, but gave up the idea out of safety concern.

Sports brought me back to life

Yang was born and raised in a village in southwest China's Yunnan Province. Her legs got paralyzed in an accident when she was 13. The teenage girl was soon plunged into the darkest time of her life.

"For eight or nine years, I just isolated myself from the outside world," she recalled. "I didn't want to meet anyone. I even asked my younger sister to send meals to my room every day."

It's sports that healed her from despair.

In 2014, she took part in the 10th Yunnan Provincial Para Games as a weightlifter. Before long, she took up wheelchair basketball, then switched to para cross-country skiing four years later.

"It's a tough choice, as I love both sports. I just wished I could wear two hats back then," she said.

It's an adventure full of challenges.

The first obstacle she needed to overcome was the weather. Yang had spent most of her time in her hometown, which is known for year-round warm weather, but now she had to train in freezing weather conditions with the lowest temperature reaching minus 30 degrees Celsius in winter.

But her physical strength and agility frustrated her more.

"In the beginning, I fell a lot in the training. I always fell into the grass beside the roads," Yang recalled, adding that her elbow even got fractured once.

"I thought back then that I would be the first one to be eliminated from the team after three months of trial training," she said. "Though depressed, I never slacked."

Yang's persistence has finally paid off. She said she'd like to attribute the accomplishments to her coaching team and other staff members who have looked after her and her teammates meticulously.

"I have to say, it's sports that have brought me back to life," she said. "Basketball brings me a feeling of satisfaction when I score a basket, while skiing gives me another joy, which is about speed, endurance and strength."

Light will surely shine in our life

Now in quarantine, Yang says what she yearns for the most is to reunite with her family after years of training kept them separated.

"I haven't seen my parents since the Spring Festival in 2018," she said.

Her parents now work as migrant workers in southern Guangdong Province, an economic powerhouse in China, and her younger sister is at home alone while attending high school. 

"In fact, I have a long-cherished wish. I hope that with my efforts, I can share some burden of my parents, and also, give more care and company to my sister," Yang said.

More than that, she said she will try her best to help more people in the mire, just as many kindhearted people have helped her. 

"During the hard period of time following my injury, I was expecting someone to take me out of home to seek the value of my life," she said. "I'm lucky enough."

The champion shared a story during the Games. When she clinched her second gold medal, a Chinese delegation official hugged her and cried.

"At that moment, I thought that it's the best way that I can reward the trainers and all the staff who have devoted a lot to me," she said. "They've treated me as if I was their child."

Though the curtain has been drawn on Beijing 2022, the spirit of sportsmanship stays alive. Yang said she hopes people with disabilities won't give up, no matter what they choose to do.

"With wholehearted devotion, a light will surely shine in our life," she said.