The Famous Wang Hao

Friday, October 17, 2008
BEIJING: Chinese Olympic table tennis champion Wang Hao has been ordered to undergo ritual self-humiliation after a confrontation with a parking attendant who reportedly caught him urinating outside a karaoke hall.
Wang, who won a team gold and individual silver at the Beijing Games, will have to confess his sins in front of the national team after allegedly scuffling with the attendant in the karaoke hall’s parking lot last Thursday.
“He needs to examine himself in front of the team, talk about his feelings and the lessons he’s learned and sound a warning for his other teammates,” Liu said.
Wang was taken to a police station after he reportedly kicked the attendant, but was not charged and has denied striking the man or being drunk. However, he has apologised for verbally abusing him and reportedly paid him 2,000 yuan to settle the matter.
Table tennis is often referred to as China’s national past time and the country’s top competitors are subject to enormous public scrutiny. Four Olympic hopefuls were dismissed for having romantic affairs which affected their training for the Athens Games.