Tokyo Olympics: golden girl Yang Qian nearly quit shooting to care for ill mother – but inspired by ‘five-star red flag flying is best medicine’

A neighbour tells Yang Qian’s gold medal on Saturday was a dream come true for her parents and her hometown of Yangjianong in Ningbo

Chinese social media explodes with pride and joy as Yang Qian becomes the first gold medallist of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

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Yang Qian makes a heart after winning the gold medal. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:37pm, 24 Jul 2021Updated: 10:52pm, 24 Jul 2021

Yang Qian’s seriously ill mother wanted the five-star red flag flying high and to be seen around the world – a wish that convinced the youngster to continue her shooting career and aim for Olympic gold, according to mainland media.

Chinese media visited Yang’s village of Yangjianong in Ningbo on Friday and spoke to a neighbour, who related the story of how the 21-year-old– who became the first gold medallist of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Saturday – nearly quit the sport to look after her mother.

The neighbour said that five months after Yang enrolled in Tsinghua University to pursue economics and management, she thought of halting her studies and her shooting career.

But her mother, according to the neighbour, said: “As long as you get better grades, and let the five-star red flag fly high around the world, that is the best medicine for me.”

A poster of Yang Qian in her hometown in Ningbo. Photo: Weibo

Moved by her mother’s words, Yang returned to training and her studies, even taking classes online during the Covid-19 pandemic, with renewed ambition to make her mother’s wish come true.