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.