Liu Xuan took up gymnastics as a primary school pupil in Changsha, Hunan Province in 1984. She was chosen by the Hunan provincial team at age eight and joined the national team at 13. Liu Xuan won a gold medal in balance beam in 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
During an interview, she expressed her idea about medals and athletes. She said that Gold medal was not the most important.
“They were all in tears, Du Li, Zhu Qinan, Zhang Jiewen and Yang Wei, in their moments of tragic loss.
At the sight of their grief, my eyes were also wet.
As sports players, they are all worth praise and justified to be proud of themselves.
The most important thing is not winning the gold medal, but the spirit of persistence in their sports during the past four or even more years.
For their motherland and beloved ones, these athletes have tried very hard. The difficult times they have experienced will always be shining in their life.
When asked if there were any words they want to say to each other, Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen, the Chinese women's badminton double, could't help shedding tears.
Patting Zhang's shoulder, Yang said, though they lost the game after six years' hard work, they will recover from their loss and have a new start.
When I heard their encouraging words, I felt like a warm hand stroking over the softest part of my heart. It's a feeling of pain and love.
I can imagine the moments when they encouraged each other during the training over the past six years and anytime when they were under pressure.
They kept on hard training, though Zhang was in a poor physical condition after the Athens Olympic Games, while Yang was passing over her prime age.
But it is glory that they want to win for their motherland.
Thinking of all they have done, I believe they are the pair that deserves the most applause, though they didn't claim the gold medal.
We can see the pride and dream as well as mutual love and support in human beings.”
（来源：China Daily 实习生屈上 英语点津编辑）
