by sportswriters Yao Youming, Sun Zhe and Zhang Wuyue
HARBIN, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's veteran biathlete Tang Jialin burst into tears in the mixed zone after finishing third in the biathlon women's 7.5km spirit at the Harbin Asian Winter Games on Tuesday - the culmination of a long and emotional journey.
She put on her goggles again, but the 33-year-old couldn't stop her tears from falling on the snow, on which she had sweated thousands of times over the last decade.
"Like my sister Xu Mengtao, I had high expectations for the Winter Asiad. However, I missed my last shot, which saw me suffer a penalty. I sighed after leaving the shooting range," said Tang.
In 2012, Tang took three biathlon gold medals at China's 12th National Winter Games, replacing legendary skier Wang Chunli to become a leading figure in Chinese biathlon.
From then on, Tang participated in three Winter Olympic Games. In the women's 7.5km spirit event at Beijing 2022, Tang ranked 35th to create a personal best at the Games, which might have been her last show, as she then got married to start a new chapter in her life.
"But I still wanted to get back, and I had dreams that hadn't been fulfilled. So I decided to restart training," Tang noted.
China's Olympic champion Xu has a close relationship with Tang, and they sent best wishes to each other at the Winter Asiad. Xu's victory in the freestyle skiing women's aerials on Sunday also inspired Tang to do her best.
Tang once took the lead in Tuesday's biathlon women's sprint, but missed the opportunity to top the podium after her shooting mishap. Ekaterina Avvakumova of South Korea claimed gold, while fellow Chinese Meng Fanqi took the silver medal.
"That wasn't a perfect result, but I spared no efforts. Many younger athletes have better physical strength than me, but I just focused on my own performance," said Tang. "In the end, I got my first medal at the Winter Asiad, and I am happy with the result."
Now, both Tang and Meng are preparing for Thursday's women's 4x6km relay event. "We will try to get a good result in the team event," said Meng, 26.
"Biathlon has been developing these years. The participants in the event's national competition increased from just over 10 skiers to more than 50, many of whom are from south China," said Tang, adding her delight at seeing this trend.
The veteran also has her sights set on the next Winter Olympics, "I will try to secure my spot at Milan-Cortina 2026. I will also help my young teammates improve." ■
