Chinese men's goalball team has high hopes for Asian Games

Chinese men's goalball players train at the national base in Tangqi ancient town, Linping district, Hangzhou. [Photo/hangzhou2022.cn]

The Chinese men's goalball team is wrapping up its training for the Asian Para Games at the national goalball training base in Tangqi ancient town, Linping district, Hangzhou, local media outlets reported.

The team, which won silver at the Tokyo Paralympic Games last year, is aiming for a gold at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games in October.

Unlike kabaddi and a few other sports that most Chinese people are not familiar with, goalball enjoys wide popularity in China and some of its athletes are well-known.

Hu Mingyao, 27, from Yongjia county in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, is one of them.

Visually-impaired due to developing albinism in his childhood, Hu rose to fame not only for his professionalism but also his strong resemblance to Satoru Gojo, the main character in the Japanese comic series Jujutsu Kaisen.

Hu Mingyao (left), 27, from Yongjia county in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo/hangzhou2022.cn]

According to Yin Shiqiang, coach of the national men's team, Hu's vision isn't as bad as that of his teammates, as international rules state that all athletes must be legally blind, meaning they have less than 10 percent vision and are classified as B3, B2, or B1 – totally blind. Players must wear opaque eyeshades at all times to ensure fair competition.

The object of the game is to throw a ball past opponents and into a net to score points. Players stay on their hands and knees to defend their net and score against their opponents.

Yin also explained that the players are currently focusing on throwing balls, stamina and strength in their training in Hangzhou.

"As they circle around the field day after day, they know by heart when and how far to run," Yin said.