American Matthew Emmons has won the hearts of Chinese people with an outstanding performance and an outgoing personality.

China's love for Emmons is not only due to the dramatic gold medal he gave up to Chinese shooter Jia Zhanbo at the 2004 Athens Games when he shot at the wrong target on his final shot in men's 50m three positions - though that helps.

His dramatic loss Sunday helps too. Emmons led all the way until the final shot, boasting a 3.4-point lead and looking destined for the crown. But a miserable final shot of 4.4 cost him the podium finish, as Chinese veteran Qiu Jian left with the gold.

Matthew Emmons of US (L) is conforted by his wife Katerina after thefinal results of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games men's 50m Rifle 3 positions shooting event on August 17, 2008 at the Beijing Shooting Hall. [Agencies]

But Emmons exited the shooting range like a champion. Spectators stood and gave him a thunderous round of applause. After journalists bombarded him with questions on his way to the locker room, reporters then also gave him cheers and long applause.

The home crowd was excited about the unexpected title, but still felt sorry for the American shooter.

"I know him because he lost the gold to Jia Zhanbo in Athens. When he came to Beijing, I thought he would make up his mistake this time because he is a really good shooter," said Wang Yi, a shooting fan from Guangdong province.

"I really believe he will become an Olympic champion sooner or later."

One Chinese Olympic News Service reporter expressed her regret over Emmons' eerily similar Olympic failure.

"He is a really nice guy," she said. "I first met him at this year's Olympic tryout. He always smiles at us, and our staff all like him very much.

"What a pity he didn't get the title! I feel so sad now."

Emmons' romantic encounter with Czech shooter Katerina Emmons at the 2004 Athens Games is also a popular tale among Chinese sports fans. The famous husband-and-wife duo has drawn great interest since they both competed in an Olympic tryout in Beijing.

When Katerina took the Games' first gold, the photo of the couples' post-victory kiss was splashed across the covers of many local newspapers.

"They are a wonderful shooting couple, not because both of them are top shooters, but they are so supportive of each other during competition," said another Chinese journalist.

"I really hope he can win an Olympic title this time like his wife did."