Not her fault ? :o
'I'M BRUISED'.
Those were the first words uttered by Ms Lee Bee Wah when The Straits Times contacted the under-fire Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) president last night.
The Ang Mo Kio GRC MP said that she is aware of the negative publicity she has drawn following the way she handled the 'Gao Ning incident'.
During the Olympics men's singles third round, Singapore's top male paddler, world No. 12 Gao Ning, took to court without a coach.
Following the boo-boo, Ms Lee revealed that team manager Antony Lee's services would no longer be needed by the STTA and that the fate of head coach Liu Guodong would be decided by a coaching committee.
But the woman at the centre of the storm also remained defiant.
When asked if she would have done things differently in hindsight, she replied: 'No, I don't think there was anything wrong. Maybe the only thing is that I would not talk to Peh Shing Huei. My intention was blown out of proportion.'
Mr Peh, a senior correspondent with The Straits Times, had broken the story that Mr Lee's services were no longer needed by the STTA in The Sunday Times, following a face-to-face interview with Ms Lee in Beijing.
When asked to elaborate on her remarks, she declined, saying: 'I really don't wish to talk about it anymore.
'It doesn't help table tennis.'
Mr Lee, who returned with Team Singapore yesterday, also side-stepped questions about the issue. 'I think today is a day for us to celebrate. Let's not discuss it,' he said.
Celebrate Team Singapore did and Ms Lee enjoyed the occasion. She said: 'I'm really touched by the supporters. I'm sure we'd like to give them more chances to celebrate.'