Inspiration on the ice against all odds

To a soundtrack of chirping birds and soul-stirring music, Macao figure skater Ho Chi-hin shrank his shoulders and waved his arms on the ice as if he were an eagle flying high in the sky.

But as he took off and tried to land jumps, he slipped, again and again. The red-coded boxes to indicate negative scores flashed up on the screen. Finally, as the music faded out, Ho skated to the center of the rink with quivering legs and bowed to the audience with a smile.

Despite finishing down the rankings, the 24-year-old cancer survivor was still immensely proud of his performance in the free skate event at China's 14th National Winter Games, which closed on Tuesday in Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

"I had no energy left, and my feet also became weak at the end, but it felt great to have persevered through my program," said Ho.

Shock diagnosis

Ho is the only male figure skater from Macao to have participated in the National Games over the past eight years. In 2016, he took part in the 13th edition of the Games and ranked seventh in the teenagers' group.

That same year, when Ho looked set to make strides in his figure skating career, his world was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

"Several months after the National Winter Games, I vaguely felt that there was something wrong with my body. I started to have high fevers for no reason, and after each recovery, I would soon have another one, until my blood test showed that my hemogram was abnormal," Ho recalled.

He then spent more than two years in hospital in Hong Kong and Macao, battling the cancer. Recalling those days, Ho said figure skating was the pillar that helped him stay upbeat.

"I couldn't get on the rink for over two years, but in my dreams, I often saw myself on the ice, landing the jumps that had been easy for me when I was healthy," he said.

As soon as Ho's condition stabilized after a cord blood transplant, the skater persuaded his doctor to approve him to return to the rink.

"The doctor told me that I could skate, but that strenuous movements were forbidden. So after my chemotherapy every week, I could visit the rink for a while," he said.

Ho considers the rink his second home. During half-hour training breaks, he preferred to rest at the rink, instead of going to his nearby home. "These periods brought me closer to figure skating," he added.

Coaching career

For a while, Ho would sprain his feet while jogging and was unable to jump or rotate on the ice as he once could. Therefore, he chose to restart his career by teaching beginners how to skate.

"To teach kids, I only needed to prop them up to slowly slide on the ice, and I could also strengthen my muscles. And gradually, I was able to learn single jumps from the beginning," he said.

There used to be a rink in Macao that was one-third the size of a standard Olympic rink, but it is currently undergoing renovation. So, in order to prepare for the National Winter Games, Ho traveled to Zhuhai, in South China's Guangdong province, three times a week.

"Luckily, I have two teammates now. Eight years ago, when I was preparing for the 13th National Winter Games, I dared not take a break during training, because I had paid to book out the entire rink and wanted to make full use of it," Ho said, adding that now he could rest while his teammates train. "We can help each other if we're feeling stressed. We feel much happier together," he added.

Although Ho was covered with sweat and his lips turned pale after his free skate, he felt gratified. "I've achieved my goal of skating through my program," he said.

"It's been five years since my postoperative observation, and I have been in a relatively stable condition. Although I don't know what awaits me in the future, I don't think I would leave figure skating."

For now, Ho plans to compete for a maximum of two years and then completely dedicate himself to coaching.

"My major at university is tourism management, and I would like to combine tourism with sports to promote the attractions of Macao, and I would like to start with figure skating," he said.

Xinhua