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Love is truly blind

By Tang Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-19 08:47

China's Wu Chunmiao celebrates with her co-runner Li Jiangang (right) after winning the women's 100m T11 at the Guangzhou Asian Para Games on Wednesday. [Photo by Yang Shizhong / China Daily]

China's Qi Shun, Wu's husband, celebrates after winning the men's 5,000m T12 at the games on Wednesday.

Chinese stars Wu and Qi share a special bond, writes Tang Zhe from the Asian Para Games in Guangzhou

She is totally blind and he has only 2 percent vision. They will never know what each other looks like, but they have forged a special deep and abiding bond. Wu Chunmiao, 25, lost her eyesight through glaucoma at the age of 10. The 26-year-old Qi Shun inherited congenital amblyopia.

However, the two are not in a dark world, instead, their love has shone through and led them to track and field glory.

Wu, who broke the world record on her way to a gold medal with a run of 12.31 in the women's 100m T11 race at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, ruled the track again in the 100m T11 at the Asian Para Games on Wednesday. And Qi, a Paralympics gold medalist in the men's marathon T12, added another gold to the family's coffers in Aoti Main Stadium the same day as his wife.

"It's a little cold today, but long-distance runners are used to cold weather and the race went smoothly," Qi said after the marathon.

However, the sudden drop in the temperature was not good news for his wife.

"I can't run my best in cold and rainy weather because I am too thin and the low temperature makes my muscles tight," said Wu, who came to Guangzhou to enjoy the games with little pressure on her. "But I felt there was a large audience in the stadium and that really made me excited."

Wu retired after the Beijing Paralympics due to lingering injuries, but she was no less busy in 2009. After getting married in Qi's hometown of Nanjing, they set up their own massage parlor in Qingdao.

"There is a day when every sportsman must retire. We have learnt massage and the business has opened another window in our lives," Qi said. "We also hope to provide more job opportunities for the blind to help our society."

"We want more blind people to stand on their own feet," Wu said. "There are seven blind masseuses working in our parlor and the business is running better than expected."

Sharing similar characteristics - optimism, outspokenness and friendliness - the couple is a perfect match.

"We didn't go through any great courtship ritual, I just asked her to marry me," said Qi, who fell in love with Wu when they trained together in 2003.

"My wife is allergic to flowers, so I always buy her jewelry as birthday gifts so that we also have them as investments," Qi said jokingly.

Though they are both on the national team, they are often separated as athletes who run sprints, like Wu, usually train on the plains or in stadiums, while long-distance runners, such as Qi, head for the hills to improve their endurance.

"We just talk on the phone or via the Internet when we are not together," Qi said. "We haven't planned when we will have a baby as we are both focusing on our training in preparation for the World Championships, National Games and the 2012 London Paralympics."