Snowboarder thrills hometown crowd in Urumqi

Despite injury, half-pipe champ wins silver medal in team final at the 13th National Winter Games

Darmin Bieyishan, one of the most popular snowboarders at the 13th National Winter Games, was thrilled to compete in the half-pipe before a hometown crowd in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The audience for the first Games hosted outside Northeast China returned the feeling.

Despite an injury and a lower-than-expected finish, the only professional snowboarder from China's Kazak ethnic group said he hopes to be a role model for young people who want to learn to soar like him.