Memettursunjan had found confidence. "Now I joke with my teammates, help with drills. Basketball gave me something more than a game. It gave me myself."

That confidence took him this summer to a national youth league organized by the Yao Foundation, launched by Chinese basketball icon Yao Ming. For the first time, he traveled beyond his hometown — and played in front of his basketball idols.

Former Chinese national forward Abdusalam Abdurexit, a Xinjiang native who returned from a career-threatening ACL injury to win CBA MVP, served as guest coach. "He's not waiting to be carried — he's pushing forward," Abdusalam said. "I see a bit of myself in him."

Former CBA guard Han Delong agreed: "He's tough, patient, joyful — and still just a boy. Basketball might stay with him forever, or maybe it will open other doors. Either way, he's going far."

More than 400 kilometers away in Atush, 12-year-old Kawsar Hasmjan sprints down a soccer pitch. He lost his left arm in a car accident, but his speed and field vision command attention. "Sports showed me I'm stronger than my body," Kawsar said. "It taught me I can still lead."

"What we see in Xinjiang today is hunger, energy, and talent," said Jiang Ying, a trustee of the Yao Foundation. "No child should be left behind — not by geography, not by circumstance."