China

Skating champion kept from world events

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-03-04 16:47

Chinese Winter Olympic champion Wang Meng has not qualified for the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships and team championships this year.

Beijing Time reports the State Administration of Sport's Winter Sports Administration decided to punish Wang for offending her coach at the 6th Winter Asian Games in Changchun, Jilin province, last month.

Wang Meng, the women's 500m speed skating champion at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, questioned her coach Li Yan's tactics when she finished third in the 1,500m competition in Changchun.

She complained she has achieved little progress since she starting training with the national team for the Winter Asian Games. She said the national team did not suit her and pledged to return to her original team in Harbin, Heilongjiang province.

Wang's complaints enraged the authorities, who say her behavior was irresponsible. The administration is also requiring Wang to undergo a self-examination.

Media reports say Wang is ready to leave the national team, but have not been able to put a date on when she may return.

The vacancy Wang has left in China's line-up for the world champsionships will be filled by a rookie skater, according to the head coach Li Yan.

This is not the first time Wang has become the focus of the public's attention for her misconduct outside the ice rink. She earlier assailed an umpire after an event at the Tenth National Games in 2005, then refused to compete in the remaining events. After she claimed the title in Turin in 2006, she also defied the team??s rules and used improper words in her acceptance speech.