by sportswriters Zhang Xinwen, Gao Jingyan and Shan Lei

MILAN, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese para ice hockey player Qiu Dianpeng said the sport has been a turning point in his life, adding that years of training with the national team helped him grow into a more confident player at the Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics.

"I have grown a lot since Beijing 2022," Qiu told Xinhua during the Games. "At that time, I was too timid to show my true ability, but now I can do much better."

Four years ago, Qiu was the youngest member of China's squad at the Beijing Paralympics. At Milan-Cortina, he has emerged as one of the team's main attacking threats, scoring four goals in four games.

Qiu said his progress was shaped by the coaches and teammates with whom he has trained and lived for years, often spending more time with them than with his family back in Hebei Province.

"The coaches take very good care of me and give me a lot of guidance," he said, adding that the team's spirit of mutual support had inspired him.

Qiu lost the use of one leg in 2008, when he was six years old, after failing to get off a moving school bus. He said he had never even heard of para ice hockey before being referred to a local team by the disabled persons' federation in 2017.

"The first time I got on the ice, I couldn't even keep my balance and kept falling," he said.

Still, he decided to persevere, saying that at 15 he was going through a confusing period in adolescence and had little sense of what his future might hold.

Para ice hockey gradually transformed his life. Although he initially found the sport difficult because of its intense physical contact, that soon became one of the things he enjoyed most.

"I like the physical contact and the teamwork," he said. "It is full of passion, excitement and energy. It is the kind of sport that gets young people fired up."

After more than a year of hard training with his local team, Qiu earned a place on the national team in 2019 with a string of strong performances.

Bruises from collisions during games are still visible on his arms, but Qiu brushed them aside.

"When representing China, I feel so excited that all the effort and pain I have gone through are worth it," he said.

On his Paralympic debut at Beijing 2022, Qiu scored twice as China finished third. At Milan-Cortina, he netted three goals in China's opening game and added another key goal in the second match.

But his campaign was interrupted against Canada on Friday, when he was knocked down in a heavy collision.

Play was stopped for several minutes while medical staff attended to him before carrying him off on a stretcher. Team officials later said he had suffered a rib dislocation.

"Para ice hockey became the turning point in my life. Otherwise, I might just be working back home for a living," Qiu said, adding that the sport had broadened his horizons and strengthened his sense of responsibility.

Now among the more experienced players in the squad, Qiu is trying to support younger teammates in the same way senior players once supported him.

"When I first joined the team, the older players always encouraged me when I was feeling down," he said. "Now I try to do the same for the younger ones. It's like something that gets passed on."

"As a member of this great team, I feel I can step up when the team needs me," he added. ■