Zou Tao, the 42nd torchbearer at the Shaoxing station of the Hangzhou Asian Games torch relay, is 15 years old. During the short torch relay, Zou Tao was confident and sunny and enjoyed this rare life experience.
Zou Tao was once a left-behind child in Xunwu County, the most remote mountainous area in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, whose parents worked abroad for many years, fell in love with football in the fourth grade, and since then, she has been training consistently, and finally took the wings of football dreams out of the mountains and into a broader world.
Zou Tao became involved in soccer when she was in elementary school, and her Chengjiang school formed a school soccer team mainly composed of left-behind children. Zou Tao, who was only 1.25 meters tall at the time, was immediately attracted to football.
Zou Tao: Football is very fun, I have been playing, I didn't know the rules at that time, I kept playing, and it was fun with a group of friends. It was very free and felt like I could run all the time. I told my teacher that I wanted to play soccer too.
Zou Tao's enlightenment coach Lai Wenliang: At that time, Zou Tao was very small and very thin. Football is a sport that is very confrontational, so I was worried about her getting hurt. I rejected her.
After class, she always went to the side of the court, and also "borrowed" her mobile phone to watch the ball, and as soon as she returned home, she closed the door to study her skills.
Zou Tao's mother You Ximei: As soon as Zou Tao comes back, she will also kick at home, she is training by herself, she is kicking "bang", sometimes she feels so noisy, she runs downstairs.
Zou Tao's enthusiasm for football quickly impressed the coach, and she also joined the team smoothly. Although the body is not dominant, Zou Tao loves to study, is willing to work hard, and becomes more and more proficient in technology, and soon becomes the absolute main force of the team.
Zou Tao's mother You Ximei: No matter how hot the sun is, she will consciously and actively put on her sneakers, carry heavy things, and go to training by herself. I felt like she really liked football.
After training for a while, this rural football team began to compete, and in 2021, the Chengjiang School women's football team won the runner-up in the "Chasing the Wind League" Mid-East Division, and Zou Tao won the "top scorer" with 6 goals.
Zou Tao: It's so happy to win the award, because we were playing for the first time and thought it was cool to play.
Love football and train hard without fear of injury
The small body can also set off a storm on the green field, and because of his outstanding skills, teachers and classmates affectionately call Zou Tao "Chengjiang Little Messi". And the excellent performance on the field is inseparable from Zou Tao's hard training off the field.
On the way to chase her dream, Zou Tao has to face the pressure of her studies and often suffers from injuries, but these have not affected her love of football.
Zou Tao enlightenment coach Lai Wenliang: Zou Tao is a very persistent person, cold wind and rainy weather always insist on training, so his skills are constantly improving. She was originally also a left-footed player, and her mind was also clear on the court, and later her skills became better and better, and everyone called her "Chengjiang Little Messi".
On the football field, the physical confrontation is very fierce, injuries are inevitable, and during a training session, Zou Tao fell to the ground and pressed his right arm during the struggle, resulting in a fracture of his right hand.
Zou Tao's mother You Ximei: After picking us up, the coach said that Zou Tao was so brave, so much pain she didn't scream, she "ah". I told her that if you kick again, when you are old, you are afraid of sequelae, and then it will be troublesome. She said yes, she listened, she didn't play for two days, and on the third day we went to work, and she played in the room.
The extraordinary willpower and excellent performance on the court brought opportunities to Zou Tao's studies, but when she was working hard to prepare for the middle school entrance examination as a special student, the accident happened again, and before the practical training exam, Zou Tao suffered a leg ligament strain.
Zou Tao enlightenment coach Lai Wenliang: Our doctor recommended that you should not move for three months, but in order to realize her football dream, Zou Tao chose to play closed to take the exam.
Zou Tao: After the closed leg will not feel, continue to take the test, after the exam slowly began to attack, very painful, the next day lying in bed can not get up.
In the end, Zou Tao was admitted to her ideal high school with excellent grades, and she firmly believes that as long as she persevere and put in hard work, her dreams can come true.
Zou Tao: When I encounter difficulties, I will think of the big sister of the women's football team Wang Shuang, because she exudes a spirit of perseverance, I think this spirit is worth learning, after overcoming difficulties, we will find that the difficulties are actually very small.
Share the "Asian Games Moment" to convey the power of dreams
Zou Tao's dream is becoming clearer and clearer, and in addition to her own talent and efforts, the training of coaches and the encouragement of teachers have also played a great role. In the school where Zou Tao studied, the football team is still training hotly, and the concept of integration of sports and education is giving children in mountainous areas more possibilities.
Zou Tao, who returned to school after passing the torch of the Hangzhou Asian Games, also shared his "Asian Games moment" with his classmates, sharing pride and glory, and also conveying the power of dreams.
Before the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, Zou Tao returned to his hometown early to recuperate because of a leg injury. Unable to relax, she came to her alma mater, Chengjiang School, to guide the team members to train, and this time, she also brought the Asian Games torch passed not long ago to share her "Asian Games moment" with her younger siblings.
Zou Tao: I feel very proud to represent Jiangxi to participate in the torch relay, which is a very honorable thing, which should be remembered deeply in the future, and it will be impressive and commemorative when I grow up.
The concept of integrating sports and education allows rural children to sweat and grow up happily in various sports, and Zou Tao's enlightenment coach Lai Wenliang is a loyal practitioner of this concept.
Zou Tao Enlightenment Coach Lai Wenliang: There are no two leaves that are the same in the world, and every child has his own advantages. They're not saying everyone can be a star, but I think every kid should give them a chance. So in our football team, there are tall, short, fat, thin, we teachers, we should explore their talents and let them show their best side.
Organize and hire a professional team of coaches, improve the construction and maintenance of various sports venues, carry out the popularization and promotion of school football and other projects, and establish a complete youth sports event system.
Chen Bin, deputy director of the Bureau of Education, Science and Sports of Xunwu County, Ganzhou, Jiangxi: At present, we have built 42 football fields in the county, with nearly 100 coaches participating in football training and guidance, and county-level echelons at all ages from U7 to U15 have been established, and each school has established its own school team. More than 20 school football competitions are held every year.
In addition to football, Xunwu County has also developed special sports such as swimming, chess, basketball, waist drum, roller skating and so on in combination with local conditions, so that more children can find a suitable growth path for themselves.
Zou Tao: Now, students have more opportunities to participate in various sports activities, and I also hope that they can love these sports activities, explore their own areas of expertise, and hope that they can enjoy sportsmanship and enjoy the joy brought by sports.
Ignite enthusiasm and grow happily in sports
Zou Tao let us see what true love is - the rejection of others, the boring training, the physical pain... None of this stopped her from running towards the dream of football. She also said: I am very happy and proud to become an Asian Games torchbearer like Wang Shuang's sister. And now, Zou Tao's story has also inspired more girls in his hometown to go green.
Sports have ignited the dreams of these children, forged their bodies, shaped their character, not only gave them a bigger stage, but also allowed them to gain more in the future life. More importantly: under everyone's care, in better and better conditions, children can really enjoy the innocent joy brought by sports. (CCTV News Client)