Haven for abandoned girl

Guo Wenjun waves to the audience after winning in the women's 10-meter air pistol contest in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 10, 2008.[Xinhua]

Shooting played a very important role in Guo Wenjun's life, not only as a career but also as a haven after her father abandoned her at the age of 15.

Guo had lived with her father since her parents divorced. In April 1999, she was with her coach Huang Yanhua in a shooting contest away from her native city Xi'an, capital of northwestern Shaanxi Province, when her father called up the coach's wife and said he was going away and might not return soon.

The father left the message, hoping Huang would treat Guo as his own daughter and give her a promising future. He has not reappeared since that day.

Then the coach became her "father" and the city shooting team was home to her.

Although she performed well as an underage shooter, Guo thought of giving up shooting when she grew up.

In 2003 at the age of 19 she quit from the shooting team and found a job as a sales girl in a department store.

"I knew she was confused about her life and future and needed some time to figure it out," Huang recalled. "But she had the gift."

After a year of selling clothes in the shop, she returned to shooting.

"She told me that many could be good salesmen but only a few were good shooters. She should fulfill herself through the thing that she did best," Huang said.

Determined to follow the path of previous outstanding shooters, Guo gradually showed her talent and finally became an Olympic champion.

"Shooting is not only about body but also heart. Guo is mentally strong. She could resist heavy pressure. She won the medal because of this," said Lu Wenhui, a sport school official in Xi'an who picked her up and recommended her to the city shooting team together with Huang when she was a 13-year-old middle school student.

(Xinhua News Agency August 14, 2008)