Ališer Hožanijazov

Ališer lost his vision forever between the fourth and fifth grades. He can't say for sure because of his excellent sense of environment and space. That means that he simply didn't notice it as a child - moreover during the summer holidays. When getting back to school asfter summer break, he took up the book and... could not read a word. Although he had problems with his eyesight when he was 3 to 4 years old, there was still hope that his vision would be maintained. Within a few years, he underwent numerous operations (seven in Tartu and Tallinn and two in Moscow). At this age, he was mainly living with his mother in hospitals. At that time it was mandatory to stay in the hospital a week before and after surgery. Ališer does not remember the feeling of looking with two eyes. For now, he only sees the bright light - but assumes that he might just imagine it.

Ališer was born and lived in the first two years of life in Leningrad, where his mother was studying at the time. In Estonia, his childhood home was in Rannu rural municipality, Tartu. He went to kindergarten in Tallinn and school in Tartu. By nationality, Ališer is half Uzbek, half Russian and Estonian. Considering this he speaks fluently both in Estonian and Russian. Currently he is 30, lives in Tallinn, works as a masseur and plays blackboard.

During school, Ališer started swimming, but dropped out at the age of 14 due to a change of a coach. The results have been very good and Aliser believes that if he had continued he would have had the opportunity to attend the 2008 Paralympic Games. For now Ališer goes to play table tennis for the blind in the Tondi Street building. He is currently number one player in this sport in Estonia. Ališer talked about dark tennis in more detail on the Estonian television on December 11, 2017. Program name is "Iseolemine" and is available for viewing on the National Broadcasting website. Ališer will participate in international competitions in Finland in January 2018. Year earlier he reached tenth place. At that time there were still competitors from Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, Poland, France, Switzerland. The goal now is to be among the top eight. If blinds' table tennis were the Paralympic sport, Ališer would be our Olympic hope.

Ališer has worked in many fields, but he thinks he hasn't found the right one yet. After graduating from high school, Alisher did nothing at his leisure time, except for playing tennis. A year later he entered the Nord Academy to study law. Studied there for three semesters, with pretty good results, then dropped out. "The specialty didn't seem quite what I wanted to do" - says Ališer. In the meantime, he worked as a tour guide at the AHHAA Center and then began to study massage. As a masseur, Ališer has been practicing for the last seven years or more. The longer difference came when he worked for a few months as a real estate agent in a real estate agency. Ališer has solid clients and companies where he goes as a masseur. At work, he mainly does on-site chair massage, with a record of 18 clients per day. Ališer ordered himself to sew a special bag with which he could take his massage chair and use it in public transport. Ališer says he would like to do something else, but unfortunately he does not yet know what it should be. Massage also does not fit well with table tennis. Whether the movements of the masseur need to be smooth and gentle, then in contrast a quick, sharp and strong blow in the table tennis is required.

He has a good imagination and a good memory, moves freely indoors and outdoors. Sometimes he looks for a more difficult path to keep his mind alert and to train his orientation. He says he is more of a logic person. "Panicking at an intersection does not lead to the other side of the road" - is his logic.

Story written December 2017