Tibetan players have high hopes

CHENGDU - Weeks ago, as 32-year-old Tsemu Chatse was gathering caterpillar fungus in the mountains, he received a phone call inviting him to join a soccer team to fight for the honor of his home county at a tournament in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Garze in southwest China's Sichuan province.

The call put him in a dilemma. Caterpillar fungus, one of the most precious materials in traditional Chinese medicine, is the primary source of income for his family, but playing soccer has always been his passion.

When he finally gained permission from his parents to play, he was too excited to fall asleep.