HUADAN BANMA, 29, grew up herding yaks and sheep on the grasslands of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, at an elevation of 3,000 meters.

He was attracted by baseball as a child and trained hard despite scarce equipment. In 2009, a full scholarship took him off the plateau for professional training, teaching him that hard work could change his fate.

In 2016, he turned down city job offers and returned home to coach baseball at a local high school. He built a training system from scratch and helped establish the provincial baseball and softball association, hoping more children could leave the plateau as he did. Many of his players have gone on to university or professional teams.

(SD News)