The Man Who Had a Dream
A tribute to the founder of APDSC: Mr Chou Kuo-tung (1936 - 2009)
The beginning of Deaf sports development in the Asia Pacific region can be traced to one man, Mr Chou Kuo-tung from Chinese Taipei. During the summer of 1981, Mr Chou attended the 14th World Games for the Deaf in Cologne, Germany, as an observer.
There, he witnessed deaf athletes from more than 40 countries participating in this world-class event. But to his surprise and disappointment, only three countries from Asia - India, Iran and Japan - participated in the World Games, despite the fact that Asia was the continent with largest population.
The lack of Asia representation in the top-level sporting realm spurred him to do something about it. His relentless determination to promote and improve the level of Deaf sports development in the Asia Pacific region paid off over to following years, eventually leading to the establishment of the APDSC.
