If it was a gamble to come all the way back from Germany to Macau in pursuit of a dream that she had almost given up on, then Han Jing represents a winning hand.
'I am so grateful to be here,' says the veteran wushu exponent. 'This is where I realised the dreams that I had held all my life but which I had always missed out on. Macau has really offered me a lot of opportunities.' She grabbed those opportunities with both hands, representing the Macau wushu team in many major regional and international championships. The 36-year-old is a local celebrity, especially since she became the first (and so far only) athlete to claim a gold medal for Macau at an East Asian Games when she won the swordplay at the 2001 edition.
'I often run into strangers who say 'hi' to me when I walk on the streets now,' Han says. 'It was weird for me at first when people I don't know greeted me. But now I really enjoy it. People in Macau are really nice. But what heartened me is that they care about sports, otherwise they wouldn't know who I am. I used to think that they only cared about gaming and tourism.'
But for the Hebei native, who moved to Macau six years ago after studying German in Germany, the most memorable moment of her life was when she won gold in the seventh Wushu World Championships in Macau in 2003.
'It's a dream that I was unable to achieve when I was on the mainland. As I moved my way up from the provincial team to the national team, I won many championships, and I thought I should try the world championship, but I kept missing out on the chance to go,' she says.
Frustrated, Han went to Germany in the hope of changing her life.