'Messengers of peace' - refugee Asian Games snowboarders fly Afghan flag

Yabuli, China: Ahmad Habibzi pauses to pray at the top of the halfpipe hill on a mountain at the Yabuli Ski Resort in northeastern China. The Afgha...

Yabuli, China: Ahmad Habibzi pauses to pray at the top of the halfpipe hill on a mountain at the Yabuli Ski Resort in northeastern China.

The Afghan-Canadian snowboarder was giving thanks to God after a whirlwind trip to China, and asking for protection before setting off down the U-shaped course on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old is the oldest of Afghanistan's snowboarding trio at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, where they are up against world-class competitors from South Korea, China and Japan.

They are all refugees and are Afghanistan's first representatives at the Asian Winter Games since 2011, when the country fielded one cross-country skier.

Habibzi, a Toronto-based IT and security worker, fled Kabul with his family at four years old.