Purpose: The journey of becoming an elite athlete is worthwhile to reflect and learn, that being said, for those elite disabled athletes, their process of becoming one is more noteworthy and remarkable. In this study, we expect the result to immensely inspire other disabled athletes. Therefore, this study is based on this disabled table tennis athlete with a wheelchair Cheng Ming-chih. He got a silver medal in men`s singles- TT 5 in 2018 Asian Paralympic Games in India, got a gold medal in men`s single in IWAS World Games in Sochi, Russia. He is the star of Taiwan, and we want to use his strenuous journey as the foundation of this study. Method: The qualitative research methodology will be utilized, at the same time, the semi-structured interviews will be given, then, we will analyse the content of the transcript. The approach above will tell the origin of the sport, wheelchair table tennis, the struggles and growth during the Para Games, and the story of from unforgettable tragic accident to being permanently disabled, then to a twist of physical and emotional transformation and acceptance, to becoming a true warrior, lastly to enjoying the victory. Each part of the story holds hand in hand to convey the main idea of this study. Results: Cheng Ming-chih used to be a table tennis athlete, however, a serious accident forced him to be amputated, which had challenged him massively physically and emotionally, at the point he almost gave up, his family was his silver linings that gave him strength and support. During his hellish journey, his family has always been his emotional outlet, whether it was positive or negative. And then, he reached his peak in his entire athletic career, he got a silver medal in men`s group in 2015 Paralympics in Rio. Unfortunately, in 2017 he got injured again, which stalled his training. With the surgery and his family and friends, however, he once again walked out of the dark and began another pinnacle in his life. Conclusion: The victories that the athlete, Cheng Ming-chih has had are built by the discipline, the hard work in training; also, by learning from the strengths and weaknesses from the other athletes. After countless competitions, Cheng Ming-chih not only has a better mindset, a steel-like discipline but also the talent he has in tennis and the calmness from his character, all of this has finally led him to the best performance that brought the victory.
© Copyright 2020 Proceedings Book of The 16th ITTF Sports Science Congress Budapest (HUN), April 19th - 20th, 2019. Veröffentlicht von International Table Tennis Federation. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.