Unsung contenders learn lessons from their defeat

Another quiet competitor is shooter Lin Yi-chun (林怡君), 23, who was eliminated in the first round of competition despite high hopes. Lin had won gold at the World Championships in 2002 and the national government selected her as Athlete of the Year. These honors created enormous pressures on her to perform, leading to a virtual collapse at Athens.

"Archers and shooters both face this kind of problem. They get lost in their own thoughts, fearing to lose the medal they haven't even won yet, and this easily leads to a breakdown in concentration," said Hung Tsung-min (洪聰敏), a professor at the Graduate Institute of Exercise and Sport Science at Taipei Physical Education College.

"With the government offering huge financial bonuses for medal winners, with your eye on the target, if you think about the one shot being worth US$340,000, wouldn't your hand shake?" Hung said.

To help solve this problem, coach Tseng Chao-hsiung (曾兆雄) brought in hypnotist Hsu Ming (徐明) to get to the bottom of Lin's depression. After arriving in Athens, Lin's psychological problems took on a physical dimension, and despite the intense Athens heat she insisted on sleeping with three blankets. On the field she was incapable of shutting out the distraction from ongoing work in the stadium, and put in some of her weakest performances ever.

The situation was made even worse when Hsu's daughter jumped to her death in Taiwan. Although Hsu is famous for having helped many entertainment stars and celebrities overcome emotional problems, he had been unable to prevent his own daughter's suicide. Despite this, Hsu stayed on in Athens to counsel Lin, but the shadow of death seemed to engulf her, adding to the pressure on the already depressed athlete.

In the qualifying rounds, Lin earned a better score than she did four years ago in Sydney. However, her performance was not good enough due to errors, and she was eliminated without even making it into the second round.

Hung Tsung-min said that Lin's experience, as well as the narrow losses by Taiwan's archers, indicate that sports officials should pay more attention to stress among athletes, lest more hopefuls be hampered in their efforts to give their best performances.