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Shen Junyu: A torchbearer-slash-football player for China

My name is Shen Junyu. I am 27. I was born in Suzhou.

I am a freelancer. When I was abroad, I worked as a Paris-based correspondent for China's "Football" newspaper. I have also worked as a model, broker, translator, and part-time employee. It was my dream to be an Olympic torchbearer, and now that dream has come true.

Coming from a scholarly family, I had an opportunity to study in France, Great Britain, Germany and other countries at an early age. Later, I pursued advanced studies at Tsinghua University and higher-learning institutions in France, and obtained a Master's degree in international trade at Sichuan University. In France, I covered the World Cup and European Championships, and interviewed such football icons as Andriy Shevchenko and Ronaldinho. When China was disqualified for the World Cup finals in 2006, I returned home to pursue my dream to be a good football player.

At the age of 22, I played No. 13 for a French team and was the first Chinese person ever to score a goal in French League competitions. Two years later, I became a member of the champion team and was awarded the title of "best goal-keeper" of the competitions among French college teams. When I was 25 years old, I created a football team named "Junyou" in China and formally registered it as a club and a company. Thus, the media called me "the youngest chairman of the football clubs in China" and "the first football player from Suzhou to have studyied abroad."

In October 2006, my football team took part in the national beach football event and ranked fifth in the finals, despite financial straits. Six months later, I had to leave the playing ground because of foot injuries. In 2007, Junyou won the bronze title in the five-aside national competitions and a ticket to the Chinese Football Association Cup for Suzhou. That year, the national team absorbed a player from my team.

I spent my free time translating more than ten French or English works into Chinese, and wrote a book on China's football evolution for the Beijing Olympic Games.

As a young person born in the 1980s, I think the Olympic torch that I held high during the torch relay is not only a symbol of honor for me, but also for the whole generation. I will bring the torch to primary and secondary schools to publicize the Olympics and impart knowledge of football, with the hope that nobody will give up the pursuit of his or her dreams.