Tian Liang-Wu Minxia affair exposed as hoax
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-03-25 08:55

Olympic champion Tian Liang's new romance with national team diver Wu Minxia has turned out to be a sheer fabrication, a sports newspaper said yesterday.

Tiang Liang (R) is seen in this paparazzi snapshot with Wu Minxia in his car. [sohu]

The First, launched in December last year, reported that a Hong Kong tabloid had made up the story which put the two-time Olympic champion and 20-year-old Wu Minxia of Shanghai together, in order to boost its circulation.

"I knew it was Tian because I had seen his pictures in newspapers. But I did not see any intimate action between him and the girl sitting beside him," The First quoted the taxi driver, hired by the Hong Kong weekly which broke the shocking news.

"At first, the girl sat in the back and then came to the front seat. They did not look like lovers," said the driver, declining to give his name but revealing to The First that the tabloid's cameraman gave him 800 yuan (US$96) to follow Tian's car.

Tian, 25, has been training at Qinghua University with his Shaanxi provincial team since March 9 after the Chinese sensation was removed from the national diving team in January for signing business contracts without official approval.

But Tian, hardly leading a peaceful life since the Athens Olympics, was reported to have dinner with his former national teammate two days after his arrival at Qinghua, one of the most prestigious universities in China.

The tabloid claimed the two met outside the dormitory building of Chinese national teams on March 11 and Tian drove away in his white Audi.

The tabloid published a picture of the mirror reflection in which the two were talking in Tian's car and said they kissed afterward.

The First quoted an anonymous Chinese sports official as saying that it is almost certain that the door to the national team is now permanently closed on Tian following the romance report.

"We are tired of all these stories. We are just keeping silent in order not to give the tabloids more fodder," Tian's coach Zhang Ting said. "The only thing we want to do now is to train undisturbed."

Tian has been one of the most popular sports stars in China with his two gold medals from Sydney and Athens as well as his smile and good looks.

Close

Angelina Jolie sizzles atop 'FHM' sexiest list Bush twins in sexy April Fool's joke Tian Liang-Wu Minxia affair exposed as hoax

Today's Top News     Top Life News
Cross-Straits ties threatened by protest         Kyrgyzstan gov't collapses after protest         China's forex chief takes helm of CCB         Higher oil prices fuel tax-for-fee reform         Kim invites Chinese president for a visit         UK accuse US of grave rights violations	Angelina Jolie sizzles atop 'FHM' sexiest list       RMB200 to foster a giant panda       Dereliction of duty leads to young man's roadside death       Bush twins in sexy April Fool's joke       Tian Liang-Wu Minxia affair exposed as hoax       BBC establishes office in Chongqing