China's 15- year - old Chen Ye won gold in the men's park final of skateboarding (滑板男子碗池决赛)at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou on Sept 25.
Chen started getting into this sport in 2016. "" I remember one day I went to a sports store, and by chance, I saw a skateboard. I decided to give it a try and I found it very interesting," Chen told China Youth Daily.
Gradually, Chen needed a better skatepark for training. To meet the need, his father decided to make a skate bowl himself. " He would work on it late into the night, sometimes until three or four in the morning," said Chen. " I'm really thankful for my father's support. "
As a junior high school student, Chen needed to find a balance between his schoolwork and skateboarding. His only "privilege(特权)" was being free from PE classes, during which he would do schoolwork because he needed to practice in his own skate bowl for hours after returning home.
He trained in the morning, studied in the afternoon and sometimes had to have other classes with the teachers' help. While getting ready for the competition this year, Chen even disagreed with his father over his study schedule. He wanted to train for more hours at night to avoid influencing his daytime classes.
Looking at the seven years of learning skating, Chen said this experience made him stronger and more determined (坚定的) to do something he truly loves.