At the Beijing Olympics, Chinese shooters bagged five gold medals, two silvers and a bronze. Some medals were grabbed by up-and-coming youngsters while the rest were gained by those troubled by unprecedented pressure of so-called "home disadvantage".

Just look at Du Li and one will see how big the pressure was.

Athens Olympic champion and former Olympic record holder in women's 10-meter air rifle, the 26-year-old lady had been hailed by the media as a hopeful to win China the first Olympic gold on their own soil.

Although she smiled and said "I enjoy pressure", her performance in the final disclosed her inner anxiety.

Achieving 399 points in the qualification round, she scored none of her shots above 10.5 points and ended up fifth with 499.6 points.

Stepping out of the final hall, Du cried.

"She could have played better, but she had too much pressure," said Katerina Emmons, Czech shooter who was crowned in the event and improved Du's Olympic record.

Five days later, the markswoman from the eastern Shandong Province staged a comeback, making up for her regret with a gold medal in women's 50-meter rifle three positions event.

However, Athens gold medalist Zhu Qinan didn't have such a chance.

From the eastern Zhejiang Province, Zhu holds Olympic record in men's 10-meter air rifle.

He entered the final of the event last Monday as second-placer with 597 points, but lagged behind after the first five shots in the final.

The riflist seemed to retain his sharpness from the sixth shot, but it was too late.

Staring at the big screen with his score, 699.7 points, which could only ensure him a silver, the normally smiling boy struggled to hold back his tears.

When he mounted the podium for the silver medal, tears finally rolled down.

"I didn't know what was going on, my mind went blank," he chocked. "I couldn't get focused during the final as I did in the qualification."

Pressure had been tremendous for his thin boy. "I had been troubled by anxiety and bewilderment," he continued. "I was the defending champion. I fought hard with the inner self to get rid of the thoughts...but it was really hard."

Maybe Chen Ying is the one who handled the pressure quite well, whose victory on Wednesday was seen as a miraculous overturn.

Ranked third among eight finalists with 585 points from the qualification round, she was five points below her old rival Mongolian Gundegmaa Otryad who equalled Olympic record with 590 points.

But the shooter from Beijing managed to impress the audience with her unmatchable sharpness in the final, chalking up the highest scores in the first and second five-shot series and surging to the second.

Something dramatic happened in the third series.

Chen, with two gold medals achieved from World Cup Final and one from World Championships since 2005, kept her momentum while Otryad was troubled by gun failure, scored just a 49.0 and slipped behind.

In the last series, although Chen finished with a decent 50.3, her previous advantage was too big to surpass.

"She shot stunningly well. She was excellent," said Chinese shooting head coach Wang Yifu.

In fact, the 31-year-old also suffered tremendous pressure before the Olympics and appeared rather depressed, reluctant to talk to anybody.

"What should I do if I can't perform well tomorrow," she asked anxiously.

"At least you can come back home," her husband replied.

In comparison, fledging shooters seemed light-hearted at their Olympic debut and their victory relatively easier.

On Aug. 9, the first competition day of the Olympic Games, Pang Wei from north China's Hebei Province nailed down a gold medal in men's 10-meter air pistol with 688.2 points.

Despite a not-so-good start of a 9.3 points, the 22-year-old quiet man impressed people with his steady performance and scored the following eight shots all above 10, including two 10.7 that aroused cheers from spectators.

After the ninth shot, he had already enlarged his distance from the second to 4.2 points.

Although he got another 9.3 as the last shot, his position seemed inshakable.

Talking about his success, Pang said, "I had been preparing for four years. Thinking about the preparation, I wouldn't be afraid of competitions, which should be holidays for athletes."

Also grabbing the spotlight was markswoman Guo Wenjun, who not only edged famous Russian Natalia Paderina, but smashed Olympic record in women's 10-meter air pistol with 492.3 points.

Guo, a 24-year-old from the northwestern Shaanxi Province, went into the finals ranked second among eight finalists with 390 points, one point less than Paderina who bettered the Olympic record in preliminary of the event with 391 points.

She soared to the first after the second shot, keeping her momentum to maintain the leading position, whereas Paderina lost her sharpness and scored her final four shots below 10.

The smiling Chinese girl waved to spectators after the final, while excited people cheered and cried out her name.

Talking about her final performance, Guo said that she didn't think too much, even when she scored a 9.4 point in the seventh shot.

"I am mentally prepared for bad shots," she disclosed.

(Xinhua News Agecny August 17, 2008)