A college physics teacher in Chongqing who fulfilled his long-cherished dream of becoming an international referee through 12 years of persistence has inspired many.

At the 14th National Games held in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi province this month, a top-level comprehensive national sports event, 30-year-old Pan Xingyu is one of the two youngest triathlon referees.

But to everyone's surprise, Pan is a physics teacher at Chongqing Chemical Industry Vocational College. He is one of the no more than 50 people in the country, almost all sports majors, who have obtained the WT Level 1 Technical Official certification issued by the World Triathlon (Union).

Pan was born in Chongqing's Changshou district in 1990. As a child, the sports lover had a sports dream.