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SCMP Reporter

Gymnastics training helps medal-winning teen tackle an inferiority complex

The 'no pain, no gain' philosophy has opened up a whole new world for Fu Shu-keung, who is classified as mentally handicapped due to his severe inferiority complex.

The 14-year-old won a  Hong Kong Outstanding Junior Athlete Award on Monday, after his astonishing performance at the Special Olympic Games in Dublin this year.

Shu-keung scooped seven of the Hong Kong team's 19 gold medals at the Games in June.

His performance amazed his coach, Andy Chan Chi-ho.

'You would never have imagined a boy with about three years of training achieving so much in an international competition,' he said.

'For the disabled, gymnastics is very challenging because of the high level of complexity and precision it requires.'

Shu-keung's severe inferiority complex makes it difficult for him to speak openly and fluently, and he has difficulty understanding people unless they speak slowly.

His mother, Fu Chan Lai-mui, explained: 'He is always afraid of being laughed at so he is unwilling to use even very simple expressions such as yes or no.'

To help Shu-keung gain confidence, his family agreed to send him for gymnastics training after he was selected as part of an athlete-development programme.

'If that's good for his personal development, why not let him have a try? Otherwise, he would have nothing to do,' Mrs Fu, 42, said, adding that she never expected her son to accomplish so much.

Shu-keung, a pupil at the Salvation Army Shek Wu School, began training at the Hong Kong Sports Institute in November 2000. But the tough training during his first year almost drove him to quit.

On one occasion, Shu-keung vomited during a training session and refused to return the next day. The setback even affected his schooling. His mother said he rejected school and was found wandering in a shopping mall one night. She said it was because he was exhausted and tired of training.

Shu-keung recalls: 'When I first started training, my whole body would hurt after two hours of going through basic routines. It felt like I had been hit on the shoulders, the back and the legs.'

But after three years, the hard work paid off. Shu-keung has grown to  appreciate the sport.

The intensive training has also given him confidence. After every training session, there is a session for the young gymnasts to talk about their training experiences.

Now Shu-keung is always the first one to speak. 'I feel very happy and excited when I'm in the gym,' he says. 'My teammates always applaud after I finish a set of difficult routines. And I really love that.'



Pain means gain for a very special Olympian