by Sportswriters Huang Yaoman, Wang Chujie and Hu Nayun
SHENZHEN, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- As the 15th National Games concluded, Shilok Drolma closed another chapter in her long association with the event - this time as a member of the service team, 12 years after she last competed as a wrestling champion.
Though her role has changed, her connection to the sport remains constant. She continues her relationship with athletics in a new capacity, remaining an integral part of the arena.
Born in the Xizang Autonomous Region, a pivotal moment came in 2011 when she traveled abroad for the first time to compete in the World Wrestling Championships in Istanbul.
"I really didn't expect to win," she recalled. "I just remember how long the flight felt."
The competition changed both her life and the history of Tibetan sport. Her victory made her Xizang's first world champion in competitive athletics since the region's peaceful liberation - an achievement she didn't fully grasp at the time.
"I didn't know what it meant," she said. "My family didn't either. When reporters showed up at my house, they called me and asked, 'Is this competition actually important?' That's when I realized."
Shilok Drolma spent 16 years competing, with the National Games marking her progression. At her first games after only four years of training, she was eliminated in the preliminaries.
At her second, she reached the final but exited early. Finally, after 12 years of dedication, she won gold at the 12th National Games in 2013.
"You have to keep going, keep putting in the work," she said. "Experience matters. Hard work pays off."
Even at her competitive peak, conditions for Tibetan athletes were still developing. "At that time, we didn't even have a team uniform," she said. "The staff told me to wear something representing my region to receive the award, but I had none."
Her solution was simple yet symbolic: she peeled a luggage tag bearing the word "Xizang" from her bag, stuck it to her jacket and pants, and walked onto the podium.
Much has changed since then. Between 2013 and 2022, Xizang invested more than 5.2 billion yuan (about $731 million) in sports. The contrast remains vivid in her memory. When she first entered sports school, the wrestling hall had only one mat and a cinder track that left athletes covered in black dust.
Boys and girls trained in shifts. Today, the hall has four or five mats, and facilities across all sports have been significantly upgraded.
"The support and conditions are much better now," she said. "Young athletes can focus almost entirely on their training."
She also notices increased confidence in the new generation of Tibetan athletes, who now interact comfortably with competitors from around the world.
That confidence is reflected in results: Between 2013 and 2024, Tibetan athletes won 823 medals in national and international competitions, including 289 golds.
Since retiring in 2017, Shilok Drolma has returned home to work in team management, bringing back the ideas, training methods and perspective she gained during her 12 years in Beijing.
Looking ahead, she believes the key challenges for Tibetan sports include providing more international competition opportunities and attracting experienced coaches to the region.
Yet she remains convinced of the region's potential. Growing up on the plateau gives Tibetan athletes natural advantages in endurance sports. With proper training and competitive experience, she believes they can compete successfully on the world stage.
Shilok Drolma's competitive career may have ended, but she continues her relay - now passing belief, experience and opportunity to the next generation. Her steps may be different, but they continue moving in the same direction.
