She could not stop smiling even when she was singing the national anthem on the podium at the Lusail Shooting Complex.

Tao Luna of China poses with her gold medal after shooting down the 10m air pistol gold medal at Doha Asian Games December 3,2006.[Xinhua]

The Chinese markswoman had just repeated her feat in the Asian Games by shooting down the 10m air pistol gold medal with a new Asiad record of 490.3 points. Her qualification score of 391 points also set a new Asian mark.

"Today, I saw a 100 percent Tao," said Wang Yifu, head coach of the Chinese rifle and pistol team.

A 100 percent Tao means a brilliant comeback of the champion at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, who brought China the first gold of that meet.

Two years ago, she finished third to the last among the 41 competitors at the Athens Olympics. She tidied up her pistol, ammunitions and all the other articles in tears, leaving without a word.

All kinds of buzz raised toward the former Olympic champion.

"Falling in love may affect girls a lot," her coach Xu Haifeng once said.

Tao suffered a divorce in 2001 which involved a lawsuit about the distribution of properties, most of which were bonus awarded after the Sydney Olympics.

Tao fell in love with her high school classmate in 2003, which was widely guessed as the cause of Xu's comment above.

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"He often encouraged me, even when I was down," she said.

Tao went into her second marriage in October, 2005. Only a month later, she left her hometown Shanghai for Guangzhou for the winter training session.

Earlier the year, she was called up again by China's legend shooter Wang Yifu, who just took over the head coach position of the Chinese rifle and pistol team.

"To tell the truth, I've thought of asking for a longer vacation," she told Xinhua then in Guangzhou. "But when I realized that many of the athletes and coaches in the national squad had left their families, I thought it was not good for me to make an exception.

"Moreover, my husband knows well of my career and understands my decision very much. We call each other everyday."

"She concentrated on shooting much more than two years ago," said a Chinese coach in Doha. "I think it has much to do with her marriage."

The Olympic champion was back to the squad, and back to the top podium again.

"Gold medal is a symbol of your heart," said Tao.