China's star trapshooter trying to balance competition and family

While taking her career to a new level after capturing consecutive World Cup Final titles in 2003 and 2004, Chinese trapshooting veteran Li Qingnian regrets being unable to spend more time with her three-year-old son.

But a happy family lunch with her son and parents in the main dinning hall of the Athletes' Village eased Li's guilt and allowed her to get back to feeling like a full-time mom - at least for a little while.

"As an athlete, I could say I have no regrets about my career," Li said. "But as a mother, I owe too much to my son," she added while feeding him cookies and dessert.

Born in Beijing, 29-year-old Li left her parents and moved to Guangzhou after getting married and having a baby, nicknamed Xiaoniu, which means calf in English.

In the years since, however, a rigid training schedule and constant travel have occupied nearly every minute of Li's daily life, depriving her of a mother's joy in watching her son grow up.

"She is always so busy, concentrating on training and competing. As parents, we fully understand her focus on the career. But Xiaoniu is just a little kid, and he couldn't help wondering 'Why is mom is not here?'," said Li's mother who came to Guangzhou with her husband to witness their daughter's performance at the Asian Games.

Away from home for weeks on end, the only link between Li and Xiaoniu is the telephone wire. Getting used to babbling with mom on phone for long time while only living together for several days, Xiaoniu sometimes complains to his dad, "Why I have two moms? One on the phone and another at home".

"Yeah, when I heard the story from my husband, I feel sad and ashamed. Women athletes always have to make a hard balance between career and families. I chose the former one in my early life, but I am ready to pay back my son," said Li.

Although lunch with Xiaoniu is always limited for Li, the young mom knows all about her son's appetite. And she's good at keeping his diet in check.

"Among all the food here, he likes McDonald's best, while high-sugar foods such as cookies and dessert are also his favorite. But I will feed him some vegetables and fruits after meals," she said.

China Daily

(China Daily 11/16/2010)