By Lu Yan

Yang Qian， 21， gained her fame for be- ing so poised and collected for her age. On July 24， the Chinese shooter won the first gold medal of the Olympic Summer Games Tokyo 2020 with a victory in the womens 10-meter air rifle， followed by Anastasiia Galashina of Russia who took the silver and Nina Christen of Switzerland who bagged the bronze.

“I wasnt as composed as I seemed. During the qualification and the final I kept adjusting my mentality， trying to shake the pressure off me， and I think I did well in doing so，” Yang said after winning the honor. “I am very happy and proud to win this gold.”

Yang made a good start for the long-awaited Olympic Summer Games， taking place between July 23 and August 8. As the first held after the outbreak of COVID-19， the ongoing games are unusual， for an absence of a big audience due to pandemic control measures， and also for having a new motto.

On June 20， the 138th Session of the International Olympic Committee （IOC） approved a change in the Olympic motto to recognize the unifying power of sports and the importance of solidarity. The new Olympic motto now reads：“Faster， Higher， Stronger—Together.”

By adding the world “together” to the previous motto， IOC President Thomas Bach said，“We want to put a strong focus on solidarity.” In a world ravaged by the pandemic， solidarity appears to be more precious.

The Olympic Games is capable of “getting the entire world together in one peaceful competition， to have athletes in one country， in one city， in one Olympic village， competing against each other but living together because they are under the same rules，” Bach said at a recent press conference.

New look

China has dispatched a 777-member delegation to Tokyo， its largest ever participation in an overseas Olympics. The 431 Chinese athletes， including 24 Olympic champions， are competing in 30 out of 33 sports in Tokyo.

Yang gained a lot of attention not only because she is the first gold medalist， but also a junior at Tsinghua University， one of the most prestigious universities in China. Netizens applauded her as having both brain and muscle.

After being scouted by a junior school sports coach， Yang started her life of shooting when she was in fourth grade in primary school. Talent， a calm personality and support from coaches， family and many others have brought her to the medals podium in Tokyo this year.