Olympic champs tour quake disaster zone

BEIJING - A group of former Chinese sporting champions led by Olympic table tennis gold medallist Deng Yaping travelled to a quake-ravaged town on Wednesday to console victims of the disaster.
Deng was seen on state television in a makeshift classroom tent at one of the towns hardest hit by last week's earthquake, where she urged a group of school children to overcome difficulties and strive to realise their dreams.
"You have to work hard, you can never give up and if you can overcome bitterness then you will have a chance to realise your dreams," Deng screamed, as the children shouted back: "Never give up."
Other former Olympic stars, including gold medal winning diver Gao Min and speed skating champion Yang Yang, were with Deng at the makeshift school ground that is housing homeless people in Mianyang city.
State television said the sports delegation was part of an effort to bring psychological counselling to some of the hardest hit areas in China's Sichuan province.
The government has said more than 40,000 people were killed and five million made homeless in last Monday's quake, which measured 8.0 on the Richter scale.
Footage showed Deng telling the giggling and shouting children how she overcame her short 1.5-metre (four-foot, 11-inch) height to become one of the greatest athletes to ever play table tennis.
"Sports is really a good way to forget about the wounds of tragedy," Deng said as the stars handed out sports equipment.
Deng, 38, won six world championships and four Olympic gold medals from 1989 to 1997.
She has worked as a public relations official for the Beijing Olympic Games and was named vice mayor of the Olympic Village for the August Games.
Gao, a native of Sichuan, won diving gold medals at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics, while Yang won China's first Winter Olympics gold medal in 2002 when she competed in short-track speed skating.
Many of China's sports stars have sought to aid quake victims, with Olympic gold medal winning hurdler Liu Xiang donating 3.5 million yuan (244,000 dollars), and basketball superstar Yao Ming giving two million yuan.