Diamonds among skyscrapers: Xinjang's only baseball team competes in Shanghai
Among all the teams attending this year’s Chinese intercollegiate baseball competition, the Xinjiang University baseball team has had to travel the farthest.Parhat Ablat is a busy man. As the coach of Xinjiang University baseball team, he’s responsible for raising the funds for and getting his 13-person team, one of the only in the region, on a train for a two-day, 4,077 km ride to Shanghai for the Chinese intercollegiate baseball competition.
The team, made up of both ethnic Han and Uigher players, are cheerful as they prepare for their trip, belying the hardships they have overcome to get where they are today. And they have a simple, if ambitious, goal: to be the intercollegiate champions.
Lives changed by baseball
To practice better, each player needs a glove, at least every two players should share one ball and a team needs to have at least four or five bats. However we cannot afford to buy so many on our own.— Parhat Ablat
In China, baseball is not a popular sport. Most people get their knowledge of baseball from the baseball-themed cartoon “Touch.” However, it found an unlikely home in China among Xinjiang University students.
For the 36-person, mixed-ethnic team in a region known for its ethnic tensions, playing baseball together has become a form communication between minority students and Han students, building camaraderie and friendships.
Ablat, himself a graduate of Xinjiang University and former member of the school baseball team, stayed on to serve as the head coach. Out of his love for the sport and the baseball team he helped build, Ablat happily trains the 36-player team three times a week on a volunteer basis, seeing the need for the sport in the divided communities the players come from.
“I started to play baseball in college and it is very important to me. Baseball changed my life and I found confidence through playing baseball,” says Ablat during a phone interview.
“In Xinjiang University, all classes and dorms are divided into minority-student-only and Han-student-only dorms. However, there are no such restrictions in our baseball team. Students of different ethnic groups, different school years and different majors receive training and compete together. Even if there is only one Han student on the team, we still use Mandarin to make sure that that everyone can understand.”
Thanks to a Korean exchange student who used to be a professional baseball player and set up the Xinjiang University team, the sport gradually gained in popularity among the students.
The Korean student organized baseball games and more and more students started to play. People came and went, but Ablat, whose hometown is Kashi, a one-day train ride from Urumchi, is one of those who stayed. He now supports himself through the help of friends and a savings from working in Shanghai last year.
“My dream is to start a baseball school in Urumchi and spread baseball in the whole city. I also want to host intercollegiate matches here,” Ablat says.
(Article continues after the photo)
The future TV star
Christopher Rufo, an American documentary filmmaker filmed the Xinjiang University baseball team as they were just starting out.
His 2008 film, a 90-minute documentary “Diamond in the Dunes”, focused on Ablat as well as the life and training of the team. Rufo’s friend who studied abroad in Xinjiang University in 2008 was a member in the baseball team and was the one who tipped Rufo off to the potential of the project.
Drawn to the multicultural baseball team which stands out on the Xinjiang University campus where classes and dorms are divided according to ethnic groups, Rufo’s friend convinced him to invest his time in the baseball documentary. Rufo packed his suitcase and moved to Urumchi for nine months, following Ablat to Kashi and onto the baseball field.
When asked about his his feeling when facing a camera, Ablat says, “We were quite nervous the first time we see the camera. However as the training starts, we gradually relax and forget about it. But we get nervous immediately if we notice the camera is still wandering around.”
Rufo’s documentary “Diamond in the Dunes” will be broadcast on America’s PBS channel later in 2010.
I started to play baseball in college and it is very important to me. Baseball changed my life and I found confidence through playing baseball.— Parhat Ablat
Obstacles on the field
Even with a burgeoning passion for baseball, the Xinjiang Univeristy baseball team has a long road ahead of them.
The team doesn't receive any financial aid from the university, so they have to find funds and training grounds themselves. Ablat and his players are paying for the whole trip to Shanghai on their own.
Originally Ablat planned to bring 18 players, however due to lack of funds he had to cut the number to 13. He has borrowed RMB 7,000, which barely covers the total expenses. If his team makes the final, he will need to find more funds to stay longer in Shanghai.
“Dealing with the problem and solving them independently is a crucial lesson for college students. It can be extremely important to life after college,” says Ablat, taking an optimistic view of the obstacles the team faces.
To the team, the biggest problem is finding baseball equipment. There is no baseball equipment store in Urumchi so they need to get those from other cities, which doubles the costs.
“[On our own] we can buy one or two balls or three or four baseball gloves, but [this is] not enough,” he says. “To practice better, each player needs a glove, at least every two players should share one ball and a team needs to have at least four or five bats. However we cannot afford to buy so many on our own.”
Through the help of some baseball lovers, the team has received some equipment. That is not the end of the team's setbacks though. Without a professional coach, the players watch baseball games online to help hone their skills, and play on the university’s football field or basketball court as no proper baseball field is available.
Even with all these obstacles, the Xinjiang University baseball team maintains a good relationship with the school, although the only person who officially supports them, the university physical education teacher, is about to retire leaving the team with an uncertain future.
Not dissuaded though, the 13 members of the Xinjiang University baseball team are coming to the Shanghai intercollegiate competition with high hopes, hoping that a win on Shanghai’s fields will translate to even more success back home.
Get there: Take subway line 9 to Songjiang University then transfer to bus line 3 or bus line 5
