China has turned into a dominant sporting nation in the last two decades due to a comprehensive state-run policy that cultivates the chosen ones from the moment they are out of diapers, feels the country's air rifle shooting coach Li Jie, an Olympic and a World Championship silver medalist.
The 37-year-old Li, who clinched silver at the 2004 Athens Games, is here with the Chinese contingent for the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup.
China, who had toppled United States from the top at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, proved that the outing at home wasn't a fluke with another very successful showing at London four years later.
In most quadrennial sporting events in recent years, the People's Republic of China has been among the top two normally.
"China is strong because there is a very sound national scheme under which the government provides the greatest support for the development of sports and sportspersons, and this applies to shooting as well," Li told PTI on the sidelines of the tournament at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range here.
"As per the scheme, at first the athlete has to show a great level of passion and then if he can back that with talent, it's done. If this criterion is met, the government supports the athlete from a very, very young age," Li said.
Over the last two-three decades, China has produced some of the finest athletes and Li believed the role played by these legends or "leaders", as he called them, has been a driving force behind the country's emergence as a leading sporting nation.
To corroborate his point, he cited the example of Wang Yifu, who, in terms of number of Olympics medals, is one of the most successful shooters of all times with six podium finishes, including two gold, at the Games.
"We have many great leaders who are tasked with developing each sport, and in shooting we have the legendary Wang Yifu. He has the passion, made great sacrifices for development of the Chinese shooting team, his contribution is immense," Li said of the man who clinched the air pistol gold medal at 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 2004 Athens Games.
"Thanks to the national policies, we have numerous people who loves to get involved in shooting sport."
Also, he added, "In China there is something called a comprehensive games held every four years, where the best sportspersons compete and the standard of which is at par with top international tournaments. Yes, you can say these games are comparable to top international tournaments. The emphasis is only on performance."
Coming to the athletes, he said: "It's hard to measure the sacrifices they have made in their life-long pursuit. This is true for other countries, too, as without them one can't think of realising their goals in sports.
In the ongoing tournament, for the fourth time in three days, the national anthem of the People's Republic of China was played at the medal ceremony.
Lao Jiajie, who claimed the gold medal ahead of his compatriot Lin Junmin in men's 25m rapid fire pistol, said one of the factors behind the nation's consistently strong showing is its unity among the athletes. The country added two more gold and silver medals to its kitty today.
"I think Chinese athletes are always united, there is cohesion," Lao said when asked after the medal ceremony why China is so strong in sports.
He further said, "I am really happy about this medal. It qualifies me for the 2017 ISSF World Cup Final and that's a nice achievement. I am really proud of sharing the podium with my teammate Lin. This is China's third gold medal in two days, I think this proves we are a strong and very united team."
A modest Li though added after Lao's achievement, "In this tournament China has won three gold medals but we think we are a bit lucky as some shooters from strong nations like Italy and Germany have not turned up."
Coach Li said they were open to the idea of exchange programs in sports.
"I think we will be very happy to go for technical exchange, we are willing to go abroad and exchange technical ideas provided there are opportunities," Li said.
