Archer Zhang hopes gold will inspire youngsters

Source: China Daily | 08-20-2008 11:36

Having snapped South Korea's 24-year winning streak with her women's individual gold medal, Chinese archer Zhang Juanjuan believes the sport's big moment in China is about to come.

"It would be no more than a daydream to make archery as popular as table tennis and volleyball, but with a gold medal in Beijing, it is within reach," said Zhang. "South Korea dominated the field for so many years because archery is a very popular sport among kids and they have a great grassroots foundation."

"South Korea is still a lot stronger than us overall, but as long as we have enough children playing it, we will have an opportunity to overcome them to become a major force in the sport."

Zhang's confidence is supported by the fact that Olympic gold medals have historically lifted unpopular sports into the spotlight. Volleyball became one of China's favorite sports in 1984 after the national women's team, led by Lang Ping, won gold at the Los Angeles Games. Table tennis and diving enjoyed similar booms in the 1990s.

Zhang Juan Juan of China shoots an arrow in the  quarter-finals match of the women's individual  archery event during the 2008 Beijing Olympic  Games at the Olympic Green archery field in Beijing  on August 14, 2008. [Agencies]

The latest popular explosion occurred in 2004, when Li Ting and Sun Tiantian claimed women's doubles tennis gold at the Athens Games. Tennis, which some viewed as representing Western values and a "better life" and was wedged firmly at the bottom of the nation's sporting priorities, is now one of the most popular sports in the country.

Zhang, who beat three Koreans to win the title on Monday, insists it is now archery's turn.

"That gold medal can bring archery more media exposure and marketing opportunities," she said. "Hopefully our performance at the Games will give fans something to expect from the sport."

Despite its long history in China, archery is far from popular here. Half of the national team is part of the Xibo ethnic minority, a group of just 200,000 living in Heilongjiang province and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It is the only community that has inherited traditions of archery.

According to Chinese team manager Meng Fanai, the Chinese Archery Association has around 300 registered athletes. About 1,000 kids participate in archery more than once a week. Among them 500 receive professional training.