KEY POINTS:
China's internet community is scouring the earth for the father of 10m air pistol gold medallist Guo Wenjun.
Reuters news agency reported that the man abandoned his daughter 10 years ago to the care of her coach.
The China Daily newspaper reported Guo was set to walk away from the sport suffering from heartbreak.
Guo's coach, Huang Yanhua, was told the paper he had convinced her to keep going by telling her that her father would be disappointed if she gave up.
He said winning an Olympic gold medal "could be the most effective of any Missing Persons notice".
Guo's parents divorced soon after she was born and she was brought up by her father. But her father left her one night in April 1999 while she was away at a competition.
"All he left was a note to Huang, her coach, saying, `I'm going far away. I want you to treat Wenjun as your own daughter and help her do her very best'," the China Daily reported.
"I'll do well in the Games," she told Huang, "and my dad will see me and be proud".
After winning gold on Sunday, Guo said she regretted her father not being there to celebrate her win.
The revelation has sparked a search on chat sites, blogs and search engines by China's massive online community.
- NZHERALD STAFF
