From China Daily via People’s Daily online (link):
Chinese Olympic table tennis champion Chen Qi says he feels like a “new person” after completing the last set of punishments for losing his temper in an international competition. The 21-year-old had already made an open apology, was drilled in a military boot camp and handed out an undisclosed amount of fines for his televised tantrum two months ago. He said he soon repented after he flung the ball on the ground and kicked a chair into the air as he lost the Asian Cup final to team-mate Wang Hao in Japan on March 5.
Chen, 2004 Olympic doubles gold medallist, was sent to do farm work in Pantao village in the northern Hebei Province. After a week of hard labour, Chen said he is now a changed man.
“I am truly sorry for my actions,” Chen said on Tuesday. “I should never disgrace the Chinese table tennis team. Working in the fields is a good re-education process for me.”
See also People’s Daily’s “Dismissal of Ping-Pong players stirs up controversy” (2004, link):
After four table tennis players were expelled from the Chinese national team, debates have been on regarding whether Chinese athletes can have romance with their teammates.
