Having collected two silver medals in three previous trips to the Olympic Games, Chinese veteran archer He Ying is striving for a fourth try in Beijing next year.
“I wanna have a try, because I love archery and I have something unfinished,” the 30-year-old He told Xinhua at the Asian Archery Championships, where she failed to reach top 16 in the recurve individual competitions.
“I have regrets for the past Olympics, and I really wanna give it a last shot at the Beijing Games next year.”
He Ying made her fame in her Olympic debut when she won the silver for the individual recurve at the Atlanta Games in 1996.
Following lackluster performance at the Sydney Games, He Ying helped China clinch the second place for the team event at the Athens Games in 2004. However, she crashed out of the individual quarter-finals after being penalized 0 ring twice for shooting violations.
“It’s so hard to leave the competition that way,” said He. “I was really in top form at that Games.”
“I was so concentrated in my game that I did not hear the warning of the judge,” she added.
After the Athens Games, He Ying retired from the national team and became a coach for the provincial team of Jilin. However, the passion for the sport still burns deep in her heart.
In September, 2006, right after her honeymoon, He Ying left her husband, a retired archer, to compete in the national championships, where she finished sixth and booked a ticket in the national training camp.
“I owed my husband a lot,” said He. “I have spent very little time with him since we got married. But he has been very considerate and supportive to me.”
Facing strong challenge from younger players, He has to work really hard to win a ticket to Beijing.
“I did not do very well at this Asian Championships. I have to get back to my game step by step,” He said. “It will be very difficult for me to win a ticket, but I will try my best even if there is only a tiny hope.”
“If I fail to go to Beijing, I hope my teammates can beat Korea and win a gold. Then I will have no regret any more,” He said with a smile.
(Source: en.beijing2008.cn)
