From toy gun to 10 m air rifle Zhang Yu’s father dictated his daughter’s way to win the Championship

zhongxin.com Zhengzhou October 18 issue: from toy gun to 10 m air rifle Zhang Yu’s father dictated his daughter’s way to win the Championship

The author Cheng Hang

at the 2022international United shooting (step pistol) World Championship held continuously in Cairo, Egypt, zhang Yu, a Henan girl who participated in the world championship for the first time, represented the Chinese team in the women’s 10 m air rifle team competition, the 10 m air rifle individual competition and the 10 m air rifle mixed team competition, winning one gold and two bronze medals with remarkable achievements.

Zhang Yu, a Chinese female shooter of “After 00”, was born in Zhengzhou, Henan province and was once included in the list of Chinese sports team shooting athletes of Tokyo Olympic Games. Admitted to Fudan University in 2022.

Zhang Yu won the grand prize this time. Zhang Yu’s parents thousands of miles away did not get these good news in the first place.

Zhang Yu’s father Zhang Mingjun explained in an exclusive interview with zhongxin.com reporter on October 17 that on the one hand, he was worried that contacting her would bring her psychological pressure; On the other hand, because Zhang Yu’s mother was nervous, family members dare not watch the game.

Zhang Mingjun is a retired soldier of a field army in Xinjiang. When Zhang Yu was young, he often told some army stories to encourage his daughter to serve the country when she grew up.

“Perhaps affected by this, she was careless since she was a child. She didn’t like ragdolls, but she liked toy gun.” Zhang Mingjun recalled.

When Zhang Yu was 11 years old, she walked with her father in the park and happened to meet a balloon shooting Booth. Staying for a while, Zhang Yu said to his father that he wanted to have a try. Zhang Mingjun agreed without thinking, and told her daughter to pay attention to line 3.1 when shooting and aiming.

Never thought that it was this accidental play shooting that Zhang Yu fired the “first shot” of her life “.

Zhang Mingjun recalled that in the first round, Zhang Yu hit ten rounds of “Bullets” and broke nine balloons; In the second round, Zhang Yu hit ten rounds of “Bullets”, and the stall owner also sent prizes. This scene happened to be seen by the staff of the local sports bureau, and immediately invited the father and daughter to the shooting training range for a try.

This test became the beginning of Zhang Yu’s shooting career. According to Zhang Mingjun’s memory, her daughter was training during the summer vacation and practiced repeatedly on the training range in thick leather clothing. “I saw her sweat dripping down with towels and garbage cans beside her, I came closer and saw that the trash can was full of sweat from the towel, which made me feel distressed, but she insisted on it all the time.”

Once again, on the way home when Zhang Mingjun picked up his daughter, he quietly asked Zhang Yu, “Niu Niu, do you feel tired? If we are too tired, we will not practice.”

Zhang Yu replied, “Dad, I like guns, and I want to continue practicing!” This year, Zhang Yu was only 12 years old.

With the care and guidance of parents and coaches, Zhang Yu grew up rapidly and stood out among his peers. At the age of 17, he was awarded the title of “athlete” and entered the national team.

Standing on a higher stage and facing more intense competition, Zhang Yu of “post-00s” experienced the frustration of losing the competition and the pressure of competition alone.

On weekdays, Zhang Mingjun could sense one or two from the conversation with his daughter Zhang Yu. He asked his daughter again, “If there is too much pressure, how about if we don’t practice?”

Zhang Yu still replied, “Dad, the goal I set is to climb, and I also climb to the target!”

At that moment, Zhang Mingjun deeply felt that Zhang Yu had really grown up, and the children who had played in the park had grown into a climbing climber.

In recent years, Zhang Yu has become more firm, facing difficulties and gaining good results repeatedly. In 2021, she was selected as the list of athletes in the shooting event of the Chinese sports delegation of the Tokyo Olympic Games, representing the Chinese team in the 10-meter air rifle competition of the shooting mixed group of the Tokyo Olympic Games, and now she stands on the highest podium in the world.

When talking about her daughter’s future, Zhang Mingjun said, “I believe that the girl has been able to cope with the pressure properly when she goes to this height, and then let everything go naturally. My mother and I actually wanted to tell the girl that I would stay at home for two more days when I was tired outside.”

Zhang Mingjun told the reporter that every time Zhang Yu went home, he would eat the pancake and seafood made by his mother. Although the food guarantee for training outside and competition is very good, Zhang Yu still misses the taste of her mother’s cooking. (Finished)