Weightlifter raises her mind to a new level

Chen Yanqing may at first appear to be a small woman, but she has earned a heavyweight reputation for her weightlifting.

In the past seven years, the 28-year-old Suzhou woman, from East China's Jiangsu Province, has won gold medals at the Olympics, the Asian Games and the China National Games.

The world champion was recently elected as a deputy to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which commences in Beijing this week.

She succeeded thanks to her painstaking efforts and never-say-die attitude. The Beijing 2008 Olympics is another special challenge. This time, she is armed with muscular mind.

After winning the gold in the Doha Asian Games last year, Chen took a five-month break to earn a master's degree in psychology. It was a recharging time, she says.

"I realize the importance of knowledge more and more after experiencing so much," Chen says.

Although courses, such as mathematics, make study very difficult, Chen tries her best to study and keep up with the other students in the School of Business and Management of Suzhou University.

She says she treats the courses like she treated opponents in a weightlifting competition.

Chen says youth and knowledge are inseparable partners. "I haven't learned any cultural knowledge since the middle school; it's so big a gap for me to fill in," she says.

"I don't want to remain the same level after 10 years when I turn 38," she says.

In order to make use of what she has learned, Chen will continue to pursue a master's degree of psychology this autumn.

When it comes to this specialized field, she already has a good knowledge base.

"I hope to harvest more in both life and competitions," she says.

In fact, the prospective psychology graduate student finds joy in her daily routine.

"I often read economics or sports marketing topics during my spare time, and I try to keep a young heart. Always having fun with people around me puts me in a really good mood and makes me full of energy."

There are so many talented athletes on the Chinese women's weightlifting team, that it keeps Chen, the world champion, on her toes.

"Always keeping myself at the highest competitive level and superb form makes me overly stressed, which easily leads to a bad temper," she says. "And now, I can find out the reason why I used to lose temper whenever I felt anxious under great pressure. I just got out of control, and even the trivial things could anger me. "

Chen has been learning to control her own emotions during training, thanks to her newfound knowledge.

"I'm getting more and more mature as I get older, and reading is teaching me a lot about how to vent my anger in a proper way. I finally came to the conclusion that no matter how bad a situation may be, facing it calmly is always the best way."

Her growing understanding of psychology is laying a foundation for a second Olympic gold medal, she believes.

"The levels of different players are very close, so people with a better psychological quality win, or even overachieve," says Chen.

When it comes to real psychological training, Chen admits she is still learning.

"I like watching competitive games, such as table tennis and shooting. Top athletes always have some methods of adjusting their psychological states, which have great effects, though they seem to be too insignificant to mention. Sometimes, using psychological common sense leads me to success."

China Daily

(China Daily 10/16/2007 page19)