Wang Meng diplomatic on fallout with team

By Coldness Kwan (Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-01-31 16:04

China's Olympic gold winner and top short track speed skater Wang Meng finally smiled after tasting a sweet revenge in the 500m race on Tuesday at the current Winter Asiad, one day after she was humiliated by the South Korean squad to sneak to third.


China's Wang Meng smiles at the press conference after she won the women's 500m short track speed skating at the 6th Winter Asian Games January 30, 2007. [Xinhua]

"I want to train in the provincial team after the Games because the national team doesn't suit me. I didn't feel much cooperation between our team members today," the 21-year-old said in a harsh voice to journalists after the 1500m defeat, which was broadcast alive on the CCTV sports channel.


Wang Meng reacts after finishing third in the women's 1500m short track speed skating at the 6th Winter Asian Games January 29, 2007. [Sportsphoto.com]

But when asked about her "quit plan" after she won the 500m race, she tried to be diplomatic about that, "That was what happened yesterday and just let it pass."

She said she won the 500m race thanks to her good final spurt and half-way overtaking. "Team cooperation is not needed in the 500 race."

But Wang admitted later that her teammates contributed a lot to her victory. "I felt I was in a safe-box today since Fu and Zhu were behind me. I owe my victory to them."

In the six-member 1500m final between China and South Korea, with three from each , Wang was alone to compete among the South Korean trio in the last laps after the 17-year-old Zhou Yang stumbled and Chen Xiaolei lagged too far away to help. Wang hit the finish line fourth but was awarded the bronze after one of the South Korean was disqualified for committing a foul.

Wang's harsh words were targeted on the chief coach of the national team Li Yan, who took the helm of the team five months ago after coaching America's Turin Olympic gold winner Apolo Anton Ohno.

The coach, however, shrugged off her prentice's criticism, "We had planned our tactics and the tactics did worked," Li said, "It is only because the South Korean's worked better."

"She (Wang) is having conflicts with the head coach," a former Chinese national team coach said.

Yang Yang (A), China's retired double Olympic gold medalist at the Salt Lake City Games, who was invited by the CCTV as a technical commentator, denied it was a conflict, "She (coach Li Yan) has some new ideas about the team and she wants to bring new things to the Chinese team and athletes should better learn to accept that."

Liu Xiaonong, China's winter sports deputy administrator said the administration had not received any file from Wang for quitting national team. "I think our defeat owes to the strength gap with South Korea."

Jung Eun-Ju, the gold winner in Wang's humiliating race echoed Liu's words. "We won with our personal competitiveness. All of the three of us has one coach respectively and we did not plan any tactics at all."



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