SPORTING CHANCE GIVES ACTOR HIS BIG ROLE

Self-discipline and training provides leading man with qualities to conquer the screen, Xu Fan reports.

In 2009, a year after the country was swept by sports fever following Beijing's hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympics, Yu Shi, a teenager from Liaoning province, set out on a journey to pursue his dream. Despite his parents' reservations, Yu, also known as Yosh Yu, chose to veer off the conventional education path, opting instead for a basketball school, a local institution that nurtures future athletic talent for the Chinese Basketball Association.

Little did he anticipate that the years ahead would resemble a life akin to that of an ascetic monk. Every winter morning at 5:30, amid the harsh chill of northeastern China with temperatures frequently dropping below — 20 C, he would commence his training, occasionally concluding the session clad only in a gym vest and shorts, sweat crystallizing into ice on his lashes. He and his comrades often longed for rain the following day to provide a brief reprieve from the arduous laps around the field.

As Yu saw friends depart one by one due to the demanding regimen, he persisted for five years and ultimately secured admission to Liaoning Technical University based on his sporting prowess.