Qian Hongyan was badly injured in an auto accident when she was only 3 years old. To ensure her survival, the doctors were forced to amputate both her legs.
The handicapped Chinese girl Qian Hongyan crawls with two home-made props and part of a basketball at Zhuangxia Village on January 5, 2005 in Luliang County of Qujing City, Yunnan Province, China. The girl who lost both of her legs in a traffic accident in 2000 at the age of three, struggles to live her life with a basketball as an underprop, Hongyan uses brushes as low-level crutches "walking" between school and home by herself. The girl's story is widely reported in the country, and experts from China Rehabilitation Research Center has come to Qian's home to help her for rehabilitative treatment early 2005. Qian now has a pair of proper prosthetic legs, but still says she likes to use the basketball from time to time as it is easier for her to get in and out of the pool with.
Qian Hongyan, who was forced to use half a basketball as her prosthetic body, has inspired millions recently with her ambition to compete as a swimmer in the 2012 Paralympics in London. Qian swims about 2000 meters a day and trains really hard."Qian Hongyan studies hard. She never grouches in training although she was confronted with many difficulties at the beginning, " her coach said.Qian's family, living in Zhuangxia, China
