Veteran Tian shows how far sport has come

Americans Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor chose beach volleyball because it was their passion. But China's Tian Jia chose it because she felt she had to.

"With my height, I found myself having little opportunity to realize my dream of representing China in indoor volleyball at the Olympics, so I went for something fresh," said the 27-year-old Tian, who won China's first-ever beach volleyball silver medal yesterday with partner Wang Jie in the team's third Olympics.

"I really love volleyball and I needed a way to climb up the national team ladder," Tian recalled.