Zhang Shangwu performs a handstand near Wangfujing in Beijing on Friday.  Photo: CFP

"Now do you believe I was a champion?" cried Zhang Shangwu, 27, a beggar, after performing a series of difficult gymnastics moves in front of a crowd of people to prove that he was indeed a former champion.

Zhang, the gymnastics champion at the Universiade held in Beijing in 2001, had been found begging in Beijing for over two weeks, which raised a national outcry, the Beijing News reported on Saturday.

From star to thief 
At the age of 12, Zhang made it to the national gymnastics team, going on to win gold in the Beijing Universiade in 2001 when he was 18 years old.  According to renowned gymnast Xing Aowei, he was seen as a promising star at the time, the Beijing-based media reported.

After enjoying a period of glory in 2001, Zhang broke his left Achilles' tendon in training the following year, forcing him to leave the national gymnastics team and abandon his Olympic ambitions forever.

"Breaking your Achilles' tendon means the end of a gymnast's sporting life," Zhang said, adding that he joined the Hebei provincial team after resting for 10 months.

However, life there was not easy either, according to Zhang. "The coach did not attend to my injury and insisted on making me practice a highly difficult movement that I could not do even when I was healthy," said Zhang.

Zhang asked to retire in 2003 and requested the team recommend him to a sports school where he could further his studies.  To Zhang's surprise, his request was rejected.

According to Zhang, when he finally quit the Hebei gymnastics team in 2005, he received a pension of 30,000 yuan ($4,500).
However, according to a statement released by the Chinese Gymnastics Association (CGA) Monday, the pension paid out to Zhang was twice that amount. 

Zhang returned home after retirement. He started to look for work several months later, but never stayed in one job for long, either because of his injury or because people constantly mocked his height of 1.51 meters, he said.

According to Zhang, poverty forced him to turn to crime. In 2007, Zhang was arrested after stealing property from a Beijing-based sports school.  He was also caught stealing bikes, cars and robbing people in Tianjin. After staying in prison for more than three years, Zhang was released this April and started his life as a beggar in Shijiazhuang of Hebei Province, Tianjin and Beijing.

The other side  
According to the CGA, apart from his injuries, serious violations of discipline were the main reason that Zhang was thrown out of the national team, which also stripped him of the chance to enter universtiy.

Zhang's mother Shi Hui-qin told the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily that her son changed after he won the gold medals, and was punished for fighting.

After Zhang was released from prison, his former colleagues in Hebei offered him economic support. They found a job for him, which he declined to take.

Yang Yang, a world champion who established the Champions Foundation, said that Zhang could get support from the body, "but he should mainly depend on himself," the Beijing News reported.

With many more people offering to help, Zhang opened a bank account on Sunday with the help of a Web user surnamed Langfeng, who was the first one to post Zhang's photos on his microblog and bring the public's attention to his plight.

However, these actions led to heated debate among the public, with some suspecting that the money might not be used properly, the Beijing News reported.

Deeper issues
Zhang's tragic situation was a result of China's strict sports training system, which requires kids to practice from a very young age at the expense of teaching them proper values in life, according to a Web user named Wuzhidao.

The system also has a high dropout rate, and Zhang's case proves this, he added.

However, Wang Dazhao, a sports commentator with People's Daily, does not agree.

"Zhang's tragedy was mainly due to himself rather than the sports training system," Wang told the Global Times. "Many athletes live under this system, but they don't live like Zhang, which means it is not the system's fault but Zhang's fault," said Wang.

"Zhang should first pull himself together, and only then people's support will be meaningful to him," Wang argued. 

"Zhang's case reminded us again that we must further strengthen the ethical and cultural education of athletes and improve their ability to adapt to society," the CGA said in the statement Monday.