Rebel Tian picks his retirement moment
Olympic diving champion Tian Liang announced his retirement late Monday, and true to form the issue swiftly descended into controversy.
Tian's retirement, confirmed by Shaanxi's sports bureau official, came on the same day the World Championships wrapped up in Melbourne with China finishing with nine out of ten diving gold medals. The one title that the team missed out on was Tian's speciality, the 10m platform.
China's top diving official Zhou Jihong attempted to dismiss the announcement, saying he had complete faith in the team's current 10m divers.
"Whether he has retired or not has nothing to do with me. And also it has nothing to do with the world championships. So do not ask me about his retirement. It is an issue for Shaanxi province," Zhou was quoted as saying by Titan Sports.
Tian, 27, was dubbed the "diving prince" after winning two Olympic golds, three world titles and 15 World Cups in his career, but was exiled in 2004 for "taking part in too many commercial activities."
In Melbourne his replacements Zhou Lvxin and Lin Yue were beaten into second and third place by Russian Gleb Galperin.
When asked how the plan to develop young divers in 10m platform would be affected by their failure, Zhou insisted that he still had confidence in his teenager divers.
"I know what you want me to say. What I can tell you is I trust Zhou Lvxin and Lin Yue. They have the ability and potential to stand on top of the podium. Defeat happens. Even Guo Jingjing made mistakes at last year's World Cup.
"Whether the result was good or not, it was a great chance to test them and help them gain more experience."
The chief of Shaanxi's sports bureau Li Minghua confirmed Tian's retirement late Monday to Xinhua News Agency.
"The sports bureau approved the report about Tian's retirement, which was submitted by Shaanxi Swimming Administrative Center. The agreement was reached by Tian himself and the center. The bureau respects and approves it," he said.
"Now the issue is over... It is in the interests of the nation."
Tian spoke to Titan Sports after the announcement, but said his reasons would have to wait.
"It is not the time yet. At this time, we should be focused on the world championships rather than me. If you have the patience, try to reach me after two weeks. I will tell you everything," said Tian.
Guo Jingjing, who won two golds this week, has been linked romantically with Tian and the pair were known as "Liang Jingjing" - "bright and brilliant" - after both won gold at the Athens Games.
Guo was also criticised for her "commercial activities" but returned to the team a few months later after making an apology and is a favorite for gold at the Beijing Olympics next August.
But Tian refused to apologize for his behaviour, and his chances of competing for his country again were receding fast before the announcement.
"I can tell you the national team and I did nothing wrong. I think the reasons of both sides make sense. But I do not know what the result will be," he said.
Support for Tian's return has come from surprising quarters.
A proposal was made by lawyer Han Deyun and 20 representatives from Tian's native Chongqing Municipality and sent to the Fifth Session of the Tenth National People's Congress (NPC) early this month, claiming Tian should be allowed to be a national team member and win glory for the country.
A survey on Sina.com after his retirement was announced showed the majority of people were in support of Tian.
Of the 14,400 voters 49.4 percent believe authorities should have given Tian another chance, while another 25.7 percent feel he is still the best men's diver in the country.
(China Daily 03/28/2007 page22)
