By Yang Yongqian

    BUDAPEST, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian Paralympic athlete Pal Szekeres is the only one in the world, who won medals at both Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

    In an exclusiv interview with Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday, Szekeres said his goal is to win a gold medal at the Beiijng Paralypic Games.

    Szekeres was born in 1964, when he was young, he was a member of the Hungarian Fencing Team. He earned a bronze medal in Olympic Team Foil in 1988 in Seoul.

    Szekeres wanted to be a fencing coach after finishing his player's career, but unfortunately a bus accident broke his dreams and changed his life.

    The accident took place in 1991, when he and his teammates took a minibus from Germany to Hungary after Fencing World Cup. He cannot stand up since then and becomes a wheel chair person.

    "When I was in a German hospital, a Hungarian coach was working in the German Wheelchair Fencing Team." Szekeres said, "He called me to try wheelchair fencing, and I went." Soon Szekeres won the European Championships very easily. He became a wheelchair fencer since then.

    Szekeres is the most successful Paralympic athlete in Hungary. He won a gold medal in foil at Barcelona Paralympic Games in 1992, and earned two gold medals at Atlanta Paralympic Games in 1996.

    Szekeres held the post of deputy state secretary of Hungarian Ministry of Children, Youth and Sports from 1999 to 2005, and had no enough time to prepare for the Sydney Paralympic Games and Athens Paralympic Games. Despite of that, he still managed to win a bronze medal at each of the games.

    What are the secrets of his success? Szekeres said, "on one side, it is very important that one is diligent and talented, success needs both of them. On the other side, only if one works a lot with endurance can he turn his diligence and talents to results."

    Szekeres stressed that endowments for sport are also very important in success. "Not everyone who is diligent and talented has endowments for sport." He added.

    "When I began wheelchair fencing, I have more experiences than others, because I had a background of a pro fencer." Szekeres said, "I won all the matches before Sydney Paralympic Games in 9 years, but I lost my advantage in 1998." Szekeres explained that the world wheelchair fencing developed very quickly in the past 10 years, because many fencers have pro coaches, and there are indeed many good coaches in every continent of the world.

    "Now I fence better than in 1992 or 1996, but it is hard to win for me, because my opponents have become very strong."

    Speaking of the Chinese wheelchair fencing team, Szekeres said the Chinese team is very strong. "The Chinese Team and Chinese Hong Kong Team may take away 8 gold medals out of the 10 golds in fencing." he added.

    Szekeres had a hard training for the Beijing Paralympic Games. He said he spent 6 weeks in training camps in the past two months in both foreign countries and at home, and he had two trainings sessions a day.

    Szekeres will take part in foil competitions at the Beijing Paralympic Games. "I have the chance to win in foil, but eight other players also have chances to win." He said.

    Szekeres ranks third in the world wheelchair fencing rankings, but he said he didn't go to every World Cup tournament this year, because his goal is not to win every tournament.

    Fencing is only part of his life. Szekeres earned two diplomas, one from Hungarian Sports College in 1992, another from Budapest College of Foreign Trade in 1997.

    Szekeres said these diplomas help a lot in his work. Now he runs a rehab and medical apparatuses company and holds the post of Chairman of the Hungarian Sports Federation for the Disabled.