Working toward her goal

Senior high school student hopes one day to play for women's national team

Shang Lianghui's soccer dream started from an accident when she was in primary school. She and her brother were fighting and broke the remote control of the family's television, and they could only watch the sports channel. "A soccer game was on with Argentina playing France. I suddenly became fascinated with the sport when Argentina's No 10 quickly dribbled past his defender, scored and was cheered by the crowd," said Shang, a senior high student at the No 1 Middle School in Tancheng, Shandong province.

After that, she enjoyed kicking her brother's basketball after school for a while. But she didn't know much about the sport or Messi, the Argentine player's name, until she went to junior middle school.

Her parents left home to work in a supermarket in Shanghai so they could afford Shang and her brother's school fees. Whenever they telephoned, they would try to persuade her not to play anymore. But she kept playing because she loved the sport so much. In 2012, she became a player on the Tancheng No 1 Middle School team.

"I'm one step closer to my goal of playing for the national women's soccer team. And I hope to see my idol Messi soon," the girl said.