Taiwan Athlete Chen Shih-hsin Traces Her Olympic Win To Aamir Khan's Dangal: My Father Was Like Him

Aamir Khan starrer Dangal has changed many lives. The inspiring biographical sports-drama might have had Aamir playing the role of former wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, but the things he did in the Nitesh Tiwari directorial had a far-flung impact on Chen Shih-hsin, the first Taiwanese athlete to win an Olympic gold medal.Dangal follows the story of Phogat, who trains his daughters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari to become India's first world-class female wrestlers. The film portrays his struggles at getting his daughters ready, even if it required him to come across as a strict father. Apart from the thrill in the sprts arena, the movie also explored an unspoken emotional chord between the father and his daughters, each of who fight to overcome their hesitance and confess love for each other as a family.ALSO READ: Becoming Aamir Khan - Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar To Laal Singh Chaddha

Chen Shih-hsin revealed that Dangal was a reflection of her own life. She told NDTV, "When I watched Dangal with Chinese subtitles a few years ago, I noticed an uncanny resemblance between the wrestlers’ father and my own. My father was a hard taskmaster, much like the father portrayed in the film. I feel he was even tougher on me."It was Chen's father who introduced her to martial arts at the age of five. He ran a Taekwondo training center, and accoring to Chen, she despised his relentless pushing and even once ran away from home.

Chen Shih-hsin eventually made history by winning the gold medal in the women's 49-kilogram category in taekwondo at Summer Olympics 2004. Currently, she teaches around 100 children at her Taekwondo school in Xinfeng.In the interview, Chen added, "Yes, you could call me a chip off the old block when it comes to inheriting my father’s grit and toughness, similar to the characters in Dangal." Dangal

, also starring Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhora, continues to remain the highest-grossing Indian film in China.