The story of little girl Tien Hong Diem (1996), from Luc Luong district, Yunnan province, southwest China, has brought tears to countless readers near and far. In 2000, after a terrible car accident, the basketball girl lost her legs forever, and her poor family was devastated and completely devastated by the sudden disaster that befell their 4-year-old daughter.

After many years of persistent efforts to rise up, refusing to give in to her harsh fate, the basketball girl from back then has made everyone admire what she has achieved.

The story of little girl Tien Hong Diem (1996), from Luc Luong district, Yunnan province, southwest China, has brought tears to countless readers near and far. In 2000, after a terrible car accident, the basketball girl lost her legs forever, and her poor family was devastated and completely devastated because of the disaster that suddenly struck their 4-year-old daughter.

Tien Hong Diem and the story of extraordinary will to live that made everyone admire
“When I woke up, I remember feeling my feet were very cold. I called my mother and asked her to put on my shoes. But she didn’t say anything. I only saw her tears falling and perhaps that was the moment I would never forget, it was also the moment I knew that in this life I had lost half of my body, from now on I would no longer have to wear socks, shoes or even pants anymore”, Tien Hong Diem recalled the sad memories of that year.

The girl lost her lower body and had to move around with a basketball made by her grandfather, but she was still happy and optimistic

Because the family was too poor to afford a prosthetic leg for Hong Diem, her grandfather cut a basketball and put his granddaughter in it, giving her 2 wooden pieces with handles, so she could move around without the help of others. The ball helped Tien Hong Diem keep her balance and was a place to rest when tired. Every day, Tien Hong Diem walked to school. The school was only 7 minutes away from home, but it took the little girl nearly 1 hour to walk. Over the next 5 years, she changed 8 basketballs.

In 2005, the image of the 9-year-old girl skillfully moving around on a basketball was spread everywhere and her unfortunate story also reached the ears of many people, making them both pity and admire the extraordinary willpower of the small girl who was stronger than anyone else.

After many years of persistent efforts to rise up, not giving up on her harsh fate, the basketball girl from the past has made everyone admire what she has achieved

Fortunately, this fame is also a chance for her to get closer to benefactors across the country who are able to help her situation. In 2007, Tien Hong Diem was sponsored to go to Beijing to get prosthetic legs, something that had previously only appeared in her family’s dreams. And the first steps on those prosthetic legs also brought Hong Diem to a journey to change her fate dramatically in the following years.

In 2007, after completing primary school, Hong Diem was forced to put her education on hold because her family was too poor and did not have enough money to support her education. Not accepting defeat to her harsh fate, she enrolled in the “South of Cloud” club – a national swimming club for the disabled.

At first, the deficiency in her lower body made it very difficult for Tien Hong Diem to learn to swim, she could not float or move in the water. However, with her strong will, Tien Hong Diem practiced diligently, swimming 10,000m every day within 4 hours. To become an athlete, she had to try many times harder than others.

Through the process of continuous training, Tien Hong Diem became a potential swimmer, a bright star representing China in sports competitions for the disabled. Tien Hong Diem’s ​​extraordinary efforts to overcome her fate made many people admire and respect her.

However, she suffered a big shock when her grandfather suddenly passed away right before the Paralympic qualifying round in 2011. This greatly affected Hong Diem’s ​​competitive spirit and she only won 1 bronze medal, unable to move on to the next round.

Pressured by not being able to satisfy the expectations of her fans, Tien Hong Diem returned to her hometown. She herself admitted that becoming famous too soon brought her many opportunities but also brought with it a lot of pressure.

After 3 years of adjusting her mood, in September 2014, the “basketball girl” returned and won the championship at the 2014 Paralympics in the 100m breaststroke category. When asked why she loved and decided to stick with swimming, Hong Diem said: “After school, other friends can run and play, but I can’t. However, when I’m in the pool, I’m the same as everyone else, and this is the reason why I love swimming.”

After 20 years of persistent efforts and winning many prestigious awards in swimming, in 2019, the “basketball girl” retired and nurtured her dream of becoming a coach to help many other disabled athletes.