A photo of a boy carrying his tennis rackets in a bamboo basket becomes popular online.
The boy, Wang Fa, 14, is a member of the Va (佤族) from Yunnan. After he won the under-14-title(十四岁以下男单冠军）at the ASICS Tennis Junior Tour in Guangzhou, an audience (观众) from Yunnan gave him the bamboo basket as a gift and the photo was taken.
"We always carry bamboo baskets when we work in the field. This is a typical(有代表性的）farming tool of the Va. I carried my rackets in this basket to honor my hometown. " Wang said.
Before playing tennis, Wang was just a village boy. But in 2016, he was chosen by a local club as a professional tennis player. "I was nervous at the beginning because the outside world was so different from my home. Tennis has helped me make more friends and get a better education. " he said.
Over the past six years, Wang has trained hard to improve his skills at the Yunnan Wild Elephants Tennis Club. He would get up at 6:30 a. m. and practice for more than six hours a day. He needed to swing a racket (挥拍) more than 7,000 times and run 9 kilometers every day.
"If it were not for tennis, I would still be helping my family with farm work at home. " Wang said.
Wang's parents didn't want him to learn tennis at first because they couldn't afford it. Luckily, the tennis club offered to teach him for free.
For Wang, winning the ASICS Tennis Junior Tour title was the beginning of the future with hope, "I will try my best to get to the top on the professional stage. " he said.
