BEIJING, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- When Yang Haoran won gold in the 10m air rifle mixed team event at the Tokyo Olympic Games, his coach Chang Jingchun was in the stands, tears streaming down his face.
It brought back memories of two decades previously, when Cai Yalin claimed the men's 10m air rifle gold at Sydney 2000, becoming the first Chinese male rifle shooter to top the podium at an Olympic Games.
Chang, Cai's coach at that time, hugged his disciple tight and wept.
Years later, Cai is now a coach and Yang is his protege in the Hebei provincial team. Guiding the disciple of his disciple to gold in his fifth Olympics as a coach, Chang told Xinhua he was "filled with happiness."
A KICK FOR GOLD
Yang Haoran made himself known when he won gold in his international debut at the 2012 Asian Championships at the age of 16. In the years to come, he had won all possible major competition titles in convincing style, but an Olympic gold still eluded him.
He had the chance at Rio 2016, when he was the undisputed favorite, but surprisingly bowed out in the qualifiers in 31st place with 620.5 points, 10 lower than his normal performance.
The young talent fell from the altar, entering a low ebb in his career.
In 2018, Chang became his coach in the national team. It took some time for the two to adjust the technical details and their efforts, after an extra year behind closed doors, eventually paid off.
The 25-year-old took bronze in the men's 10m air rifle and won gold in the mixed team with women's individual gold medalist Yang Qian.
"There were doubts over him after Rio. When I took over as his coach, he was not in good condition, and there were doubts again. I understand the journey had been really long and difficult for him," he confessed.
Behind the long-awaited victory were years of hard work, and a kick.
Only the best two teams in qualification could progress to the gold medal match. Yang had previously had unstable performances in the second part of qualification, and Chang knew it.
He was thinking of saying something to motivate Yang at the end of part 1, but it was Yang who spoke first.
"Haoran came to me and said 'coach, maybe you should give me a kick now?' I just stared at him directly in his eyes, and kicked him. He did not say anything, but dusted himself off and went to his position," Chang revealed.
He returned with 211.7 points from 20 shots, an average of nearly 10.6 points, and secured a final berth, before taking home his first Olympic gold.
"Haoran told me later that kick did work. When he had difficulties, he thought of the kick from the coach, and then he was able to keep focused," he said.
THE MAN BEHIND BREAKTHROUGH
Chang began his coaching career in the 1970s, when he was just 21. At that time, the rifle events were dominated by European and American athletes.
"Chinese pistol athletes always took back home multiple golds from international competitions, but our men's rifle athletes could not even qualify for those tournaments. We were looked down upon by foreign athletes, and by teammates in other events," Chang recalled.
In 1997, he became a national team coach and set himself a goal - "To turn the men's rifle team a good one."
After numerous studies and discussions with other coaches and officials, three years later he saw Cai, an underdog at that time, take gold in Sydney, which he believed was a turning point for China's men's rifle.
"That gold was very inspiring. It was from then that China's men's rifle team brushed off the disregard from others and went from the shadows to center stage," he noted.
At the next Olympics, he led Zhu Qinan and Li Jie to a one-two finish in the men's 10m air rifle in Athens, and Zhu took a silver four years later on home soil.
Currently, the world records of both men's individual and team 10m air rifle events are held by Chinese athletes.
But Chang said the most memorable moment of his life was a secretly-planned celebration in 2008, when several of his athletes drove him and his family to a "simple dinner," as they said, which turned out to be a grand ceremony attended by more than 60 athletes he once coached, celebrating the 30th anniversary of his coaching career.
"That's the biggest happiness of being a coach. Every time I think of that moment I feel happy from the bottom of my heart," said the 63-year-old.
"The ties with these sincere and righteous disciples are the greatest fortune of mine and helping them to become a good athlete and a good man is the biggest success in my life." Enditem
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