(ATR) A weightlifter who won Olympic gold for Kazakhstan says she will return to China this month and expects to represent her motherland at future Games.
Zhao Changling, or Zulfiya Chinshanlo, claimed the 53kg title in London while setting a new world record in the clean and jerk by lifting 131kg.
Zhao, 19, who was born and raised in Yongzhou, as well as Maiya Maneza (Chinese name Yao Meili) were on loan from their Hunan provincial weightlifting team to Kazakhstan in 2008 with permission to compete in all international competitions.
Zhao returned to her hometown this month and applied for a 2nd-generation ID card in Hunan's capital city of Changsha after her contract in Kazakhstan expired last month.
"I am back now, and I cannot wait to represent China at the international level," she told Xiaoxiang Morning News.
"It's my dream to win an Olympic gold medal for China. I will be back to train with Zhou Jihong (the coach of Hunan’s weightlifting team) again in the near future," she added.
Kazakh Federation: Zhao, Yao Still Ours
Kazakhstan’s weightlifting federation, meanwhile, is in denial about the news of Zhao's return.
"Chinshanlo (Zhao) and Maneza (Yao) just came back to China to visit their parents. Maneza now is back in the country, and Chinshanlo will also be back later," Kairat Turlykhanov, Kazakhstan Weightlifting Federation president, told local media.
"Chinshanlo is still a member of Kazakhstan’s team, and she still will represent the country at the 2014 world championships, which will be held in Astana," he added.
In London, Kazakhstan officials as well as weightlifters denied that both Zhao and Yao were in fact Chinese. Spokesman Mendihan Tapsir told BBC that both women’s weightlifters belonged to the Dungan, a minority who originally came from northwest China, but which also settled in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
How could Chinese weighlifters become Kazakhs? According to Hunan’s weightlifting federation, Zhao went to Kazakhstan when she was 13 years old.
"Kazakhstan’s team went to train with us in Hunan in2007 to prepare for the world championships. The head coach told us that they thought Zhao and two other young lifters were very talented. Therefore, they wondered whether it would be possible to let them represent Kazakhstan at international stages," He Yicheng, the deputy general manager of Hunan’s team, recalled.
Hunan’s team then signed a five-year contract with Kazakhstan on the loan of Zhao and Yao after receiving an approval from the Chinese weightlifting federation.
Based on the contract, Zhao and Yao would represent Kazakhstan at international competitions until Sept. 15, 2012. Kazakhstan was responsible for all athletes' salaries and also paid $100,000 for the loan.
Zhao became the world champion in 2009 and defended her title two years later. Yao also won her first-ever Olympic weightlifting gold medal this summer in London in the women’s 63kg category.
Chinese Federation: Citizenship Comes First
The Chinese weightlifting federation refuses to take any responsibilities on this controversial issue.
"The contract is signed by Hunan Provincial Sports Bureau and Kazakhstan Weightlifting Federation. Whether Zhao should give her Kazakhstan citizenship or get back her Chinese citizenship, local official needs to take care of it," said Li Hao, the vice president of the Chinese weightlifting federation.
"Whether Zhao could compete at next year's National Games or represent China in the future will depend on when she could get back her citizenship. Otherwise, the topic makes no sense," Li added.
An official at the Hunan Provincial Sports Bureau said that Zhao would go to Kazakhstan's embassy in Beijing soon to abandon her Kazakhstan citizenship, since China does not allow dual nationality.
The IOC requires athletes who are switching national teams to wait at least three years after representing their former team before competing in the Games. The waiting period can be shortened or waived with permission from the International Sports Federation and the National Olympic Committee concerned.
Uncertain Future for Zhao
"Everyone asked me the same question. I have no idea what will be happening next," Zhao said.
"Even if I come back to China, I am unsure whether I will have a chance to compete in Rio since China has so many talented athletes," she added.
Reported in Beijing by Tencent's Norman Li
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