A young spectator cheers at the opening ceremony of the 13th Chinese National Winter Games in Urumqi, Xinjiang
For Ho Zhixuan, an amateur figure skater from Macau, finishing last at the National Winter Games is as big a triumph as winning medals.
“I’m proud of myself for having tried my best,” said Ho. “I came here not for medals.”
The 16-year-old Ho earned 18.77 points for the short program and 39.89 for free skate, far behind his nearest rival in the youth group. The winner, Li Tangxu, scored 51.90 and 109.75 points respectively.
Despite his error-prone performance, Ho received a lot of applause from the stands.
“The rink is beautiful, and so many spectators were cheering for me. I really enjoy the experience,” said Ho, who began to skate when he was nine years old.
There is only one indoor ice rink in Macau due to its sub-tropical climate. And Ho doesn’t have the finest coaches that his peers on the Chinese mainland enjoy, but he nevertheless keeps practicing four times a week and trains for about two hours per session.
“I didn’t start preparations for the National Winter Games until mid-
December last year,” said Ho. “It’s a little bit hasty.”
Ho said that these National Winter Games have exposed the gap between him and well-trained professionals.
“I’ve learned a lot from my competitors. Hopefully I can execute some difficult jumps in the future as they can do,” he said.
However the only representative of Macau at the National Winter Games has regrets as well.
“Unlike me, the other skaters all have teammates. So I feel lonely sometimes. I hope next time there will be more Macau athletes taking part in the National Winter Games,” he said. Xinhua
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