Wang Yafeng is fondly called "Messi in the blind world" by people who care about blind football.
After winning more than a dozen medals in top events such as the Paralympic Games, he decided to return to Fuzhou School for the Blind as a teacher and as a campus football coach.
At the beginning of every training session, Wang Yafeng cheers and encourages the players to let them go and enjoy happy football.
Photo by Wang Dongming
Wang Yafeng was born in a mountain village in Yongtai County, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province in 1990.
Yongtai is located in the Daiyun Mountains. He was born blind, and his parents farmed and farmed. It was not until he was eight years old that he was sent to the blind school in Fuzhou by relatives, and he "walked out of the mountains" for the first time.
At the Fuzhou School for the Blind, Wang Yafeng became a blind football player.
He followed the Chinese Men's Blind Football Team and won a silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, a gold medal in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Paralympic Games, a third place in the 2010 Blind World Cup, and five consecutive Asian Championships.
In October 2021, Wang Yafeng followed the Fujian Blind Foot to win the Blind Football Championship of the 11th National Paralympic Games.
Photo by Wang Dongming
how they made history
More than a dozen medals hung on the wall in front of the reporters.
Looking back on the blockbuster first game record, Wang Yafeng said frankly that everyone didn't think about it that much at the time. "I just wanted to show the world a blind style. We fought game after game and finally lost to Brazil, but we also made history."
On September 7, Wang Yafeng was at home when he talked about his goal in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Men's Blindfoot Final, and his excitement was beyond words. In that Paralympic Games, the Chinese men's blindfoot lost 1-2 to the Brazilian team and won the runner-up. , but also made history.
Photo by Wang Dongming
After Wang Yafeng retired, he used the money he saved to build his own home in a community next to the Fujian Olympic Sports Center.
The house was kept warm and tidy, and the child-rearing books of the expecting wife were spread out on the dining table.
After retiring, Wang Yafeng had an operation on his eyes, and he had a vague sense of light. At home, he could do some housework within his power.
Photo by Wang Dongming
In 2022, Wang Yafeng harvested his sweet family and will welcome his first child at the end of October. The picture shows the wedding photo of him and his lover.
Photo by Wang Dongming
As an enrolled teacher of the Fuzhou School for the Blind, Wang Yafeng's most important task is to train a football-loving team.
In a standard futsal field for the blind, surrounded by cotton baffles on both sides, the visually impaired boys and girls put on blindfolds and followed Wang Yafeng to chase the football with the bell.
On September 8, Wang Yafeng took the students from the Fuzhou School for the Blind to the stadium for training. The sculpture on the right was set up by the School for the Blind based on him.
Photo by Wang Dongming
The youngest of these blind students is 9 years old and the oldest is 18 years old; some are just getting into football, and some have been selected for the Fujian Provincial Blind Football Team.
When it comes to the biggest difficulty in playing football, they said in unison: "scared".
Afraid of falling, afraid of hitting, afraid of not being able to kick the ball, afraid of not being able to find the direction.
Wang Yafeng told a reporter from China News Agency: "After staying in the dark for a long time, moving and running are all unfamiliar, and the fear caused by uncontrollable is the biggest psychological obstacle."
During training, Wang Yafeng clapped his hands and asked the players to run and jump in place with the rhythm.
Photo by Wang Dongming
Wang Yafeng instructed the female players to tread the ball on the spot.
Photo by Wang Dongming
Wang Yafeng gave the female players a demonstration of the return run.
Photo by Wang Dongming
Wang Yafeng is China's first-generation blind football player and captain of the national team from 2013 to 2016.
His mentor and coach, Zou Hongmou, is the first generation of blind foot coaches to lead soldiers.
Wang Yafeng recalled that in 2005, when the blind foot in China started, the training conditions were limited, and Coach Zou created many "firsts".
He sewed the first football with a bell by himself, dismantled the bed board as a fence for the training ground, and let the players put their hands on their legs and feet to sense the movement.
"Behind every 'first time', coach Zou told us countless times, 'try again, don't be afraid'." Wang Yafeng said.
Wang Yafeng asked the players to run with the ball collectively on the training ground.
Photo by Wang Dongming
Wu Shuying, who was the principal of the Fuzhou School for the Blind at the time, told the China News Agency that she was most impressed by three things. First, the children had never seen the green field at that time, and they had been training on the concrete floor. Supplement nutrition and kill all the pigeons that I have raised for many years to make soup for the children.
And the third piece is Wang Yafeng's stunt - being able to take three steps backwards, kick the ball with big feet, and shoot volleys.
Finding the ball without sound and calculating the point of focus and angle precisely requires great directional ability and absolute confidence, but also means hard work and hard work.
Wang Yafeng trains the players to follow the sound to find the ball.
Photo by Wang Dongming
Take off from the dark
Wu Shuying recalled with a smile that the 2015 Ninth National Paralympic Games was held in Chengdu, Sichuan.
At that time, the battle was fierce. Wang Yafeng was injured and broke two front teeth. At the final penalty kick, he still led the game.
The whole field was silent. "He bit his mouth full of cotton wool, took three steps back, started, volleyed, and shot! The ball scored! Fujian won the final victory!"
Today, the blind athlete, whose online name is "Son of the Wind", has not only become a teacher at the Fuzhou School for the Blind, but also the spiritual pillar of the school's blind students.
Wang Yafeng trains players how to run with the ball.
Photo by Wang Dongming
Wang Yafeng led the team members to do demonstration movements and let them feel it with their limbs.
Photo by Wang Dongming
As the country vigorously promotes and develops disability undertakings, invests a lot of money to build and improve disabled facilities in public areas, and improve the level of special schools, Fuzhou School for the Blind now also has a standardized training ground for the blind and a rubber track.
The children concluded that Mr. Wang Yafeng had two famous sayings.
One sentence is "Run quickly, or the ball will be silent!" If the ball is not well controlled, the farther and farther you run, when the bell in the ball stops, the children will not be able to identify the sound and locate the ball.
Wang Yafeng was the youngest player in the coaching team. He kicked the ball and asked the players to follow the sound to find the ball.
Photo by Wang Dongming
The other sentence is "Let your teammates hear you!" If the teammates don't shout, there is no way to coordinate actions such as passing the ball, and the players in the dark world have no way of positioning, and they are alone and helpless. "If your voice is too low, your teammates will be injured."
Wang Yafeng instructs the players where their feet touch the ball and how to dribble the ball.
Photo by Wang Dongming
Wang Yafeng teaches children to pass, dribble and shoot.
He told the children that there are no shortcuts for athletes, and their physical fitness needs to be refined and refined day by day.
"On the field, it's all about experience to see who can react faster."
Under the guidance of Wang Yafeng, 4 players have been selected for the Fujian Provincial Blind Football Team.
One of them is Zhang Jiasong, an 18-year-old athlete, who fought alongside Wang Yafeng at the 11th National Paralympic Games last year.
Wang Yafeng guides the players during training.
Photo by Wang Dongming
"Entering the school for the blind and playing football with Teacher Wang are the two most important things in my life." said Zhang Jiasong from Sichuan, "I feel that there is hope in a dark life."
In the blind school, Wang Yafeng not only gave football lessons to the students, but also did some logistical work. The picture shows Wang Yafeng giving out Mid-Autumn Festival gifts donated by caring people to the blind school students.
Photo by Wang Dongming
More than just a massage for the blind
Today, more and more visually impaired friends have more career options.
In addition to massage for the blind, you can also work as a piano tuner, a stenographer, an Internet interactive service visually impaired experiencer, a sports coach, and even a lawyer.
Wang Yafeng usually takes the bus to work.
Photo by Wang Dongming
Wu Shuying, who has been teaching for 43 years, said that in the past ten years, the state has provided financial guarantees for disabled sports, events and talent incentive mechanisms. As a professional blind football player, he often earns a lot of bonuses, "enough for blind students to buy houses and open stores." .
Fujian Province is also actively promoting the setting of test centers for blind self-study examinations, encouraging blind students to obtain diplomas, and opening up multiple career choices.
She said, "Doing the preparation of teacher examinations also has a stepping stone."
Wang Yafeng works on a computer in the office, and the computer is equipped with special software for the blind.
Photo by Wang Dongming
Wang Yafeng uses his mobile phone to listen to football news from all over the world. Through the special software for blind people on his mobile phone, he can read news, chat on WeChat, send a circle of friends, shop online, etc., almost the same as ordinary people.
Photo by Wang Dongming
However, Wu Shuying said frankly that by inviting Yafeng to come back to the school for the blind and take the children to play football, she hopes to make the competitive sport of blind football a popular sport for the masses.
"I hope Yafeng will pass on the sports spirit of love, hard work and never giving up to more blind people."
Wang Yafeng agrees with this concept.
He said: "Let children play football, not only to cultivate excellent athletes, but also hope that sports can strengthen the body, exercise physical fitness, cultivate the quality of will, and let them laugh from the heart."
Authors: Lin Chunyin, Wang Dongming