Chinese boy pursues basketball dream with wooden backboard

With a iron ring, two long sticks, and three planks, Wang Lei, nicknamed "basketball boy", made a simple backboard, which kept him company throughout his whole childhood.

Wang Lei lives in Wangmin, a remote mountain village in Xiji County, in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Xiji is the last county to be removed from the list of poverty-stricken areas in Ningxia's Xihaigu, an area known as one of the most uninhabitable for human beings due to land reclamation, drought, and the fragile ecological environment. However, a passion for basketball grows well in this arid land.

Influenced by his father and grandfather, Wang Lei started playing basketball when he was six years old, either in his small backyard or the dusty playground of the village primary school.

"I like basketball for no reason," the 12-year-old boy said, joking that the wooden backboard was a "masterpiece" of his.

Wang Lei's father, Wang Yadong is also a basketball lover, and enjoys playing with his son during holidays. Playing so frequently, Wang Lei wears out two pairs of sports shoes every month, which means big expenses for this rural family.

"But I never hesitate. My son has a gift and I will try my best to support him, as long as he likes it and studies hard," said his father.

Three years ago, a video of Wang Lei playing basketball went viral. In the video, he was physically too weak to defend against a much taller and stronger opponent, but the boy, breathless and red-faced, never gave up, earning him a lot of praise from netizens.

One of Wang Lei's heroes is Chinese basketball superstar Yao Ming, whose movements he tries to emulate. "When practising, he always asks me whether his action are standard or not," said the father.

Last year, Wang Lei sent an invitation to Yao in a public online video, and surprisingly received a basketball signed by Yao. "I wanted to treasure it as a souvenir, but my son always secretly uses it to practise, and the signature can be hardly seen now," said Ye Xuemei, Wang Lei's mother.

Wang Lei takes a different view. "He sent me this basketball, so he must want me to practise with it," retorted the boy.

Wang Lei's other hero is his father, though the middle-aged man can no longer prevent his son from scoring. The father and son always play basketball with a group of adults, either in the village or on the township basketball court or the county gym.

"My father is a forward and I play defender, and we always challenge other adults," said Wang Lei, adding that their good teamwork has given him a ticket to play adults' basketball.

Now Wang Lei studies at Xiji's Yuanhe Middle School, and led his class to win the school basketball competition last year. In order to improve his skills, he always challenges older students.

"I'm short but I'm more agile and can help pace my team with more rebounds," said Wang Lei. "I want to prove that I am qualified both as a rival or teammate," said the boy.

With Xiji's quality of life improving, the Xihaigu area bade farewell to absolute poverty last November. The standard exercising facilities have covered Xiji's 295 villages with a per-capita sports area of 2.2 square meters.

There is at least one outdoor basketball court in every village, meaning Wang Lei's wooden backboard has been retired.

"In the past, I had to frequently pause for breath due to the dust, but now the basketball court has been hardened, and I will play until it gets dark," said Wang Lei.

Wang Lei keeps practising basketball for two hours every day. "I can concentrate on my studies much more easily after playing basketball," Wang Lei said.

Jin Xingwang, the headmaster of Yuanhe Middle School, can't agree more, and he has established 10 sports associations including basketball and volleyball, with three P.E. teachers as instructors.

"It's necessary because it helps to build up students' bodies as well as shape their personalities," said Jin.

For Wang Lei, he loves basketball, and he is also eager to change his fate through knowledge. "I won't give up playing basketball, and I want to study hard to get into a good university and go outside the mountains," he said. "I don't want to let my father down."