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Aug 27, 2008
...BUT STILL SOME WOUNDS
Gao Ning blames coach and team manager for exit
By Wang Meng Meng
A red-eyed Gao Ning after losing his match without a coach by his side. -- LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE PHOTO
GAO Ning, the player in the centre of the Singapore table tennis controversy, yesterday slammed the two men he felt were responsible for his sour Beijing Olympics experience.
The world's 12th-ranked player is also frustrated with what he perceived as preferential treatment to the women's team.
He blamed team manager Antony Lee and head coach Liu Guodong for his early third-round exit.
He said their failure to provide him with a coach during his match against Croatia's Tan Ruiwu, ranked 43rd in the world, contributed to his shock elimination. He lost 0-4 in just 24 minutes.
'It is a joke that Antony and Liu couldn't get a coach to guide me,' lamented the Sportsman of the Year.
'I have no dignity left. I'm a table tennis player representing Singapore on the biggest stage of all and they embarrassed me by not providing me with a coach.
'I cried after the game. It is the only time I've cried over table tennis.'
Gao is clearly rankled by the incident, and is still 'hurt' and 'furious'.
At the heart of the 26-year-old's unhappiness is what he perceived as unequal treatment of the men's team compared to the women's.
He said: 'In Beijing, I shared a room with (teammate) Cai Xiaoli and another coach.
'But the women each had a room to themselves.'
Following the coach's no-show incident, Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) president Lee Bee Wah told The Sunday Times that team manager Lee's services were not needed any more.
That drove a wedge between the new STTA president and Team Singapore officials, who felt her timing was poor as the women's team had bagged a silver medal - the first in 48 years.
Gao was also unhappy with having had to spar with the women, saying: 'I have a contract as a player. When I signed in 2004, I was not told that I would be a sparring partner for the women.
'But I ended up spending more than half of my six-day training week sparring with them.
'I was frustrated. But because the women's team were Singapore's medal hopes, I did not want to complain and upset the country's Olympic preparations.
'However, my own Olympic dreams have been damaged.'
Since the team's return on Monday, Gao, a Hebei native, has not spoken to Lee and Liu.
'I've nothing to say to them,' he said. 'Their actions proved that I'm not important to the team. I'm not even a second-class citizen in the squad. I'm a third-class citizen.'
But Gao has no plans to leave the country or quit the sport.
'I'm a Singaporean, why should I leave?' he said.
'When I returned to Singapore on Monday, an old lady said she felt sorry for me and encouraged me not to give up.
'That really moved me. I will be 30 when the next Olympics come around but I am determined to do well in 2012.
'Besides, I am filled with rage after this incident. That is the biggest motivation for me.'
[email protected]
login | sign up
Home > Sports > Story
Aug 27, 2008
...BUT STILL SOME WOUNDS
Gao Ning blames coach and team manager for exit
By Wang Meng Meng
A red-eyed Gao Ning after losing his match without a coach by his side. -- LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE PHOTO
GAO Ning, the player in the centre of the Singapore table tennis controversy, yesterday slammed the two men he felt were responsible for his sour Beijing Olympics experience.
The world's 12th-ranked player is also frustrated with what he perceived as preferential treatment to the women's team.
He blamed team manager Antony Lee and head coach Liu Guodong for his early third-round exit.
He said their failure to provide him with a coach during his match against Croatia's Tan Ruiwu, ranked 43rd in the world, contributed to his shock elimination. He lost 0-4 in just 24 minutes.
'It is a joke that Antony and Liu couldn't get a coach to guide me,' lamented the Sportsman of the Year.
'I have no dignity left. I'm a table tennis player representing Singapore on the biggest stage of all and they embarrassed me by not providing me with a coach.
'I cried after the game. It is the only time I've cried over table tennis.'
Gao is clearly rankled by the incident, and is still 'hurt' and 'furious'.
At the heart of the 26-year-old's unhappiness is what he perceived as unequal treatment of the men's team compared to the women's.
He said: 'In Beijing, I shared a room with (teammate) Cai Xiaoli and another coach.
'But the women each had a room to themselves.'
Following the coach's no-show incident, Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) president Lee Bee Wah told The Sunday Times that team manager Lee's services were not needed any more.
That drove a wedge between the new STTA president and Team Singapore officials, who felt her timing was poor as the women's team had bagged a silver medal - the first in 48 years.
Gao was also unhappy with having had to spar with the women, saying: 'I have a contract as a player. When I signed in 2004, I was not told that I would be a sparring partner for the women.
'But I ended up spending more than half of my six-day training week sparring with them.
'I was frustrated. But because the women's team were Singapore's medal hopes, I did not want to complain and upset the country's Olympic preparations.
'However, my own Olympic dreams have been damaged.'
Since the team's return on Monday, Gao, a Hebei native, has not spoken to Lee and Liu.
'I've nothing to say to them,' he said. 'Their actions proved that I'm not important to the team. I'm not even a second-class citizen in the squad. I'm a third-class citizen.'
But Gao has no plans to leave the country or quit the sport.
'I'm a Singaporean, why should I leave?' he said.
'When I returned to Singapore on Monday, an old lady said she felt sorry for me and encouraged me not to give up.
'That really moved me. I will be 30 when the next Olympics come around but I am determined to do well in 2012.
'Besides, I am filled with rage after this incident. That is the biggest motivation for me.'
[email protected]
