Olympic table tennis doubles champion Chen Qi has been seemingly forgiven for
his outburst at the Asia Cup this month by being included in the World Team
Championships line-up.
Chen lost his cool at the event in Japan on March 5 as he hit the ball to the
floor and kicked a chair into the air after losing to teammate Wang Hao in the
men's final.
But Chen, No 6 in the world, has been listed along with Ma Lin, Wang Liqin,
Wang Hao and Ma Long for the World Championships in Berlin, Germany, from April
24-29, brushing aside worries that his humiliating behaviour in Japan would
hamper his rising career on the way to the Beijing Olympics.
"His problem in Japan will not affect his future chances in the national
team," said Cai Zhenhua, the former team head coach and now director of Table
Tennis and Badminton Administrative Centre, during a press conference in Beijing
yesterday. "Chen is a great player. We want to help him and not to kick him to
rock bottom.
Chen, 21, from Jiangsu, made a televised apology to the nation last Thursday
for his behaviour. He also has to return 10 per cent of his earnings this year
to the authorities.
His behaviour, called "a terrible mistake" by China's media, has put the
spotlight on the mental strength of young sports stars.
"His affair has exposed the weakness in the national team's mental
education," said Cai. "We have taken some steps to make the young players more
aware of their national duties and try to make the affair a good thing on the
preparation of Beijing Olympics."
Earlier this month, another promising star, Qiu Yike, was given a one-year
ban from the national team after he failed to return to the team's dormitory
after staying out for drinking for the night.
The process of selecting the line-up for the World Team Championships began
this year.
Internal qualification tournaments, which were open to
the public and televised live for the first time, took place from January.