Ten-year-old bound Chinese girl practising for her English Channel swim

A ten-year-old Chinese girl recently jumped into a tributary of the Yangtze River, her ankles and hands bound as part of her training to swim the English Channel.

London, Oct.5 : A ten-year-old Chinese girl recently jumped into a tributary of the Yangtze River, her ankles and hands bound as part of her training to swim the English Channel.

Her father at her side, Huang Li sliced through the water for three hours, propelling her body over a distance of nearly two miles (3.25km) with her dolphin-like style.

Only then did Huang Li's mother tell her to stop so that she could feed her some cake, reports Times Online.

The feat is the latest sporting sensation in China, already in the grip of Olympic fever with less than a year to go before Beijing plays host to the Games next August.

But Huang Li's swim has also sparked debate over whether her parents should expose the child to such dangers.

Her father, a teacher, said the girl had insisted on the swim, sometimes paddling with her bound hands, as part of training for her dream of crossing the Channel.

Huang Daosheng said: "It's not dangerous because, first, her swimming skills are really good and second, I was swimming with her, staying close to her. I had her when I was 35, so she is my heart. I would never play around with her life."

According to legend, this swimming method was used in ancient times as a technique of psychological preparation and escape mechanism in case a warrior was taken prisoner.

Huang said he coaches his daughter himself because the family do not have the money to employ a professional.

Li has been swimming since she was six with the dream of swimming the Channel.

ANI