Para table tennis team campaigns for international arena – Building confidence

Zhong Fu Wei-Ta-Lu Table Tennis Team (中福維他露桌球隊) is composed of mainly polio and spinal injury sufferers, with the vast majority of members being confined to a wheelchair. Though rehabilitation is the main purpose for the 50 members who currently practice four days a week, over the course of time, they have built up a keen interest in the sport and participated in numerous domestic and international competitions - often achieving exceptional results. In October 2013, the team traveled all the way to Europe for the ITTF Para Table Tennis 1st Belgian Open, where they seized two silver medals and 10 bronze medals.

“Para table tennis gives meaning to life and provides social contact with others,” said Asia University Social Work graduate student Liu Zheng-han (劉政漢). Para table tennis has been an inspiration to his life and was the main reason he decided to study Social Work. In addition to empowering him with a positive mental attitude, it has also inspired him to use his own life experience to coach others, especially the vulnerable. After a brief interruption to his life, with the help of table tennis he has finally regained his confidence.

Coach Wu Ming-dao said that every sport requires particular skills, and these can’t be learned overnight. However, learning such skills are even more difficult for disabled people, and so encouraging them to walk out from under the shadow of their disability is one of a coach’s main responsibilities. “With each member facing their own difficulties, it is anything but easy to muster up the courage to come here,” added Wu. 

Para table tennis team campaigns for international arena – Building confidence

URL:http://www.peopo.org/news/236511

(以下為中文對照)

身障桌球隊征戰國際 活出自信

中福維他露桌球隊成員多為小兒痲痺或脊髓損傷的患者，大多數成員都坐著輪椅，目前約有五十多名成員利用每週四天的對打練習，來達到復健的目的，也因為打出興趣，參加了不少國內外的殘障桌球比賽，都獲得不錯的成績，2013年十月遠赴比利時參加國際肢障桌球公開賽，更奪下二面銀牌、十面銅牌的亮眼佳績。「殘障桌球對身障者來說是一種歸屬與交流」現在就讀亞洲大學社工研究所的劉政漢說，殘障桌球啟發了他的生命，也是他唸社工學系的主因，除了能正向思考，更利用自己的生命經驗來輔導他人、服務弱勢，將曾經中斷的人生用樂觀彌補回來。

教練吳明道說，每一種運動都有技術，並不是短時間就能學會的，對身障者來說又更加的困難，「每個成員都有辛苦的一面，能夠鼓起勇氣來這裡十分不簡單」，因此，鼓勵他們、幫助他們從陰影中走出來也是責任之一。