China's Olympic champion awaits fate after crash

BEIJING, July 24 (Reuters) China's Olympic gold medalist Kong Linghui is likely to face heavy sanctions from the country's sporting authorities after being held by police for crashing his car while drink-driving, Chinese media reported today.

Kong was fined (225 dollar) and had his license revoked for six months after crashing his Porsche into a taxi in the early hours of Friday morning, a report on the Chinese Table Tennis Association's (CTA) Web site said.

Kong won table tennis gold at Atlanta in 1996 and in Sydney four years later.

''All are equal before the law,'' news portal China Interactive Sports quoted Liu Fengyan, China's table tennis head, as saying at a news conference today.

Kong had been released as the crash wasn't serious and he had recognised his mistake, Liu added.

A table tennis official, who declined to be named, said that no timetable had been set for team disciplinary action.

''He had already decided to quit from major tournaments and become a player-coach,'' the official said, which had effectively ruled him out of playing Olympic table tennis at Beijing in 2008.

Kong, who was quoted by the Beijing News in February as saying he ''liked driving fast but was respectful of traffic laws'', is expected to receive heavy punishment.

China holds its national athletes to strict standards of conduct that have become especially stiff in the run-up to hosting the 2008 Olympics.

The country's close-knit table tennis team is particularly hard on misconduct.

In May, Olympic champion Chen Qi was sent to the countryside for a week's hard labour as part of team-sanctioned punishment for unsportsmanlike behaviour after losing to compatriot Wang Hao in the men's final at the Asia Cup in Japan in March.

In March last year, China banned national team member Qiu Yike from all competition for a year after staying out late drinking with friends.

REUTERS AY BD1641