FIBA – When a 9-year-old stood taller than Yao!

BEIJING (Olympics) - When Houston Rockets’ Yao Ming was chosen as the flag-bearer of the Chinese contingent, basketball received a shot in the arm for its recognition.

Yao has spelt out his dream in no uncertain terms – that of leading China to a medal at this Games. Whether that dream will be realized will be known only on the final day of the competition.

One dream, however, was realized during the Opening Ceremony.

That of nine-year-old Lin Hao to meet his hero Yao.

Yes, we are talking about that little boy who held Yao’s hand as the two led the 1,100-member Chinese contingent into the Bird’s Nest on the opening day of the Games.

Lin, despite his young age, is a hero in the true sense. The little second grader was physically dwarfed by the 2.26m Yao, but stood tall for his gallantry during the disastrous earthquake that struck southwest China’s Sichuan province on May 12.

Lin’s with his 30 classmates in the classroom when the disaster, that took the lives of close to 70,000 struck. Many of Lin’s classmates died, but if not for him many more would have died too.

According to media reports, after freeing himself, Lin went back into the classroom for a rescue act. He managed to pull two out and carried them to safety, despite being hit by a falling rubble. During the rescue process, Lin kept singing songs to lift the spirits of those buried.

“I was the hall monitor, it was my job to look after my classmates,” he had said when asked why he risked his life to save that of the others.

Lin and his two sisters, having lost contact with their parents, hiked seven hours to Dujiangyan, a country in the provincial city of Chengdu before reaching to safety.

And when Lin walked alongside Yao in the Opening Ceremony, he was just representing many of his classmates’ dream.

“We often play basketball together, and Yao has always been our idol,” Yang Yuerui, Lin’s schoolmate at the Yingxiu Primary School, told Xinhua. “I can’t believe he has become the lucky one.”

Weren’t we lucky to see the youngster along side one of our sport’s superstars!

FIBA