Malian student achieves Winter Olympics dream

When the 2022 Winter Olympics kicked off on Friday night in Beijing, Komani Mayentao, an international student at the Beijing International Studies University, strutted onto the glittering stage of the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, together with other foreign students and professors.

Since being selected last year as a performer at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, Mayentao, a 24-year-old student from Mali, has visited the Bird's Nest for rehearsals no matter rain or shine.

"I'm very lucky to participate in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. I really value this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," says Mayentao, whose Chinese name is Zhang Yisheng.

The name was given by his Chinese teacher at the Confucius Institute in Mali. Yi means clothing in Chinese and sheng is a traditional Chinese musical instrument.

Enthralled by Chinese culture and kung fu since childhood, Mayentao took part in Chinese Bridge, a worldwide Chinese proficiency competition for overseas students, and won a scholarship to study in China when he was 18 years old.

After getting a bachelor's degree at the BISU, the young man from West Africa decided to pursue a Master of Business Administration program, also at the university in Beijing.

"It's definitely an honor of life for me to take part in the Beijing Winter Olympic Games," he says, citing the rapid development of Beijing since he arrived in the Chinese capital six years ago.

At an event held on Dec 5, for the application of international volunteers to the Games, the Malian student said, "I'm looking forward to participating as an overseas volunteer.

"Thirteen years ago, Beijing successfully hosted the 2008 Olympic Games with impressive multicultural interactions. Beijing will surely deliver an even more splendid sports event for the world in 2022," he said.

Mayentao, who speaks Chinese fluently, was picked as a performer for the opening ceremony. "Although I did not get to serve as a volunteer, it's a great honor to be able to perform at the opening ceremony. I realized my Winter Olympic dream in Beijing," he says.

Mayentao made friends with performers from other countries when they rehearsed at the National Stadium. Eight international students and lecturers from the BISU, including Mayentao, who came from the Central African Republic, Suriname, South Sudan, Mali, Venezuela and Romania, performed at the spectacular opening ceremony.