The 40-year-old is to receive $550 (£375) a day to work for three weeks every three months with India's shooters.

 

A Hungarian Laszlo Scuzask has been retained as rifle coach after the Beijing Olympics but the hunt is on for an overseas pistol coach as the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) did not renew the contract of another Hungarian Csaba Gyorik in the wake of the poor showing by pistol shooters during his tenure.

 

National coach Sunny Thomas welcomed Zhang’s appointment and said her expertise will benefit trap, double trap and skeet shooters.

 

He said: "Her appointment has come at the right time.

 

"Zhang is a legend and her immense knowledge should help our shooters."

 

Zhang made history at the 1992 Games in Barcelona where she became the first and the only woman to win a shooting event thrown open for men and women for the first time, setting an Olympic record.

 

After Barcelona, she took a break from the sport to study economics at Sichuan University.

 

Zhang resumed training in 1998 and won one more gold and three silver medals at the World Championships in 1998, 1999 and 2001.

 

She is hoping to compete at the London Olympics in 2012.

 

Her appointment is part of a new Rs 678 crores (£9.5 million) initiative called “Scheme for Preparation of Indian Teams for Commonwealth Games, 2010” launched by the Government to try to guarantee success in New Delhi.

 

The scheme is aiming to support 1,300 elite athletes in 17 sports by providing 250 coaches and 80 back-up staff, including physiotherapists and psychologists.

 

The athletes be fully funded by the Government, for intensive training of 305 day at home and abroad.

 

They will also be provided state-of-the-art equipments and given greater opportunities to compete abroad.