Chinese Sports: Down syndrome teen transformed through sport

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Playing sports is an enlivening experience for millions of people. And many who live with learning and intellectual differences agree. With less than two months to go until the 2019 Special Olympics, many hopefuls are hard at work preparing for the Games. CGTN's Xu Mengqi introduces us to a teenager with Down Syndrome whose life has been transformed by sports.

"You are the stars, and the world is watching you." This is the world of Special Olympics. A place where people with intellectual disabilities are not defined by their limitations, but by their achievements.

LI XIANG ATHLETE WITH DOWN SYNDROME "Sports have made me stronger, and made me brave, confident, and happy."

15-year-old Li Xiang has been training for the Special Olympics for five years. Born with Down Syndrome, his intelligence quotient, or IQ now equals that of a six-year-old.

YANG JIANYING LI XIANG'S MOTHER "A few years back, people who knew him would say he kind of kept things to himself and he was an introvert. He would perhaps even avoid any eye contact with people. But after playing sports I find him more and more confident now."

TIMOTHY P. SHRIVER SPECIAL OLYMPICS CHAIRMAN "You know because most people assume that if you have Down Syndrome or autism, your life is sad or tragic or even hopeless. We have to fight against that assumption every single day."

Kids with Down syndrome can be willful and slow in learning things, but it doesn't mean they lack determination or perseverance.

SHI ZHUOYING LI XIANG'S COACH "When he practices hanging, the calluses on his hands often tear and bleed. I would trim them for him, but they would grow and tear again. Some kids can't take the pain, but he would remind himself of his goal to win a championship and then he would keep on going."

The fight, though, isn't Li Xiang's alone.

"There are moments when I feel fragile, too."

Having a Down Syndrome baby at the age of 26 was a devastation to Yang Jianying as it might be to any young mom. The family finally took it well.

YANG JIANYING LI XIANG'S MOTHER "I want to give him a healthy and happy life. We might not be able to pursue a long life, but I hope that this different sort of life that he lives, can have its brilliant side too."

And, through his countless hours of focused training, and in his spirited pursuit of success, this confident, determined teenager has already found a brilliance, all of his own.

XMQ, CGTN, Shanghai.