Chinese hunt dad who walked out on a champ
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's huge Internet community has sparked a nationwide search for the father of 10m air pistol gold medallist Guo Wenjun who abandoned his daughter 10 years ago and left her to the care of her coach.
Guo's heartbreak at being away from her father reached a pitch last year where she was ready to quit shooting, the China Daily newspaper said.
Huang Yanhua, Guo's coach, was quoted as saying he had convinced her to keep going by telling her father would be disappointed if she gave up and winning an Olympic gold medal "could be the most effective of any Missing Persons notice".
Guo's parents divorced soon after she was born in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, the China Daily said.
Guo's father raised her and introduced her to shooting when she was 14. But she has not seen him since he left one night in April 1999 when she was competing in a match outside the province.
"All he left was a note to Huang, her coach, saying, 'I'm going far away. I want you to treat Wenjun as your own daughter and help her do her very best'," the newspaper said.
Guo's sense of abandonment made her drop out of training several times during her huge leap from the city team in 2001 to the national squad five years later.
After several ups and downs, Guo made a promising comeback, winning both a gold and a silver medal at the 2006 Doha Asian Games just two months after entering the national team.
A year later, Guo was ready to give up again. It was Huang's reminder of her motivation that convinced her to hold on, the newspaper said.
"I'll do well in the Games," she told Huang. "And my dad will see me and be proud."
After winning gold on Sunday, Guo revealed her regrets that her father was not there to enjoy her triumph.
China's internet community has now picked up on Guo's plight and sparked a nationwide search for Guo's missing father, with tens of thousands of web surfers and numerous chatrooms joining the effort.
(Editing by Nick Macfie)
(kirby.chien@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: kirby.chien.reuters.com@reuters.net: +86 1391 0507 516))
