Xinjiang scores on the national stage at last

The region faces challenges in developing soccer, report Sun Xiaochen in Shenyang and Cui Jia in Urumqi.

When Erjet, the goalkeeper for the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region's under-20 soccer team, buried his face in the grass and wept, the crowd in Shenyang Tiexi Stadium gave him an ovation fit for a hero.

Chants of "Xinjiang urra", or "Going forward, Xinjiang", in the Uygur language echoed around the 30,000-seat stadium as hundreds of Xinjiang fans shouted and clapped to cheer their players after the team lost its first-ever semifinal in the National Games in a penalty shootout.