Name: Chen Ying Date of birth: November 4, 1977, in Beijing Olympic entry: Women's 25-metre pistol Career highlights: Fourth place, Athens Olympics; Gold medal, 2006 world championships; Gold medal, 2007 World Cup final. Main rivals: Maria Grozdeva (Bulgaria), Gundegmaa Otryad (Mongolia). While the rest of China's sports community is relishing the thought of home advantage in Beijing, shooting coaches have been seized by apprehension. Statistics show that hosts improved in every department of their Olympic campaigns from the previous Games - except in the shooting competition. 'Our studies showed that at most shooting majors, the home country more often than not slipped in the medals standings, bucking the trend in many other sports,' said Wang Yifu, China's head coach, at a World Cup event in Beijing in April. 'Being a sport where even a tiny lapse of concentration could cost dearly, performance levels in shooting are more susceptible to pressure than any other discipline. Having a boisterous home crowd might, in fact, backfire as shouts of encouragement could prove s distracting.' Chen Ying knows exactly what Wang means. The 31-year-old finished a lowly sixth in her speciality 25-metre pistol at the Beijing shooting range in April, despite hopes she would excel in the last tournament held at the Olympic venue before August. Born in the capital, Chen, the reigning world champion and World Cup final winner, is rated as the second-best hope for a Beijing native to win a gold medal behind table tennis player Zhang Yining. Unlike Zhang, who is going to defend her singles title, Chen had a bumpy ride in Athens. Chinese officials named Chen as a gold medal certainty before the 2004 Olympics, given her streak of world-beating results in domestic and international competitions. The expectation proved too much for Chen, who finished fourth. Despite the disappointing result, Chen soon bounced back with an astonishing level of resilience. In the 2006 world championships, Chen outclassed a full-strength field, including Athens winner and world record holder Maria Grozdeva of Bulgaria, to clinch the title. Her resurgence culminated in the 2007 season, in which she was voted the year's best female shooter, winning every international tournament she entered. Chen started the year with two gold medals in the World Cup series - and ended by winning the 25m pistol trophy at the World Cup final. 'She has been an exceptional rapid-fire shooter ever since she was a teenager,' said Wang Jinfu, Chen's coach at the Beijing provincial shooting team. 'She has a special ability to control her breathing between shots and is superb at finding her rhythm.'