Source: from redsports.sg

Li Jiawei to play for and study at Peking University next year?

Story by reader Singapore Sports Fan

Singapore paddler Li Jiawei has dropped a bombshell at the Beijing Olympics after her heart-breaking loss in the women’s bronze medal play-off.

The 27-year-old, who, earlier this week, had helped Singapore to win the women’s team silver and break its 48-year medal drought at the Olympics, has revealed to Shin Min Daily News that she is tired after being a full-time athlete for 13 years and that she plans to study at the Peking University next year.

A day after her 2-4 loss to world no 2 Guo Yue in the third-and-fourth play-offs, the second time that she has lost the bronze decider, Li told Shin Min that the Beijing Games is likely to be her last Olympics. She also thanked Singapore for developing her into a world-class player.

Then she dropped the bombshell.

“I will be playing for the Peking University’s table tennis club in Ocotber,” she said. “As a result, I am also thinking of enrolling in the Peking University for studies.”

However, the three-time Singapore Sportswoman of the Year added that she has not confirmed her plans and that she will only make a decision when after she returns to Singapore and after discussions with the Singapore Table Tennis Association about her future.

“I’ve trained for so many years so I am feeling a bit tired,” she said.

“I’m also already 27. All these years, I have missed out on the opportunity to do so many other things. I’ve not had the chance to study either.

“But these are just my thoughts for now. I will go back to Singapore and have a discussion with the STTA president first.”

Li, a former trainee at the Beijing Sports School along with world no1 Zhang Yining, was spotted by STTA officials during a scouting trip in 1995 and persuaded to come to Singapore to don national colours.

She was only 13 then. She did not go through the Singapore education system during her 13 years as a full-time trainee. However, she is currently the world no 6 and has won countless SEA and Commonwealth Games table-tennis titles and a handful of Asian Games medals.

These wins for Singapore, as well as her successes on the ITTF Pro-Circuit have helped her to earn close to a million dollars in awards and winnings.

My personal comments:

I would say this decision is a bit too fast and I would say the team will still need her. If she is gone maybe there will be a small drop of morale and building of morale will take a long time for the team. From her view, if I am her I will go and have a walk around the world, so much money now but without life, everyday is ping pong and ping pong and ping pong. I think it is also wise of her to choice at this time as she can retire now with the sum of money that she have earned.

Looks like a very complicated process. What a nice medal with the Jade in between.

Latest: IOC launches investigation

A determined computer expert has delved into cached pages on the Internet to unearth Chinese official documents showing a gymnast who took gold, edging Britain’s Beth Tweddle into fourth place, may indeed be underage.

Controversy over whether He Kexin, gold medallist in the uneven bars, is under the minimum age of 16 has surrounded her participation in the Beijing Olympics. The latest challenge over the age of the tiny Olympian comes from the discovery through a cyberspace maze of Chinese official documents listing her date of birth.

She certainly does not look as if she has reached the minimum competing age of 16. However China says her passport, issued in February, gives her birthday on January 1, 1992, and the International Olympic Committee has said proof from her passport is good enough.

If incontrovertible evidence that Ms He is underage were to come to light, Britain’s Beth Tweddle, from Cheshire, could edge up from fourth place to bronze medal position in the uneven bars. With the end of the Games just three days away, that now seems unlikely.

The latest unofficial investigation was carried out by ‘Stryde’, a computer security expert for the New York-based Intrepidus Group, whose site Stryde Hax revealed a detailed forensic search for Ms He’s age.

The blogger first simply tried Google, only to find that an official listing by the Chinese sports administration that had given her age could no longer be accessed. Next he tried the Google cache, only to find that Ms He’s name had been removed.

So then he tried the cache of Chinese search engine Baidu. There, he found that Baidu lists two spreadsheets in Ms He’s name, both giving her date of birth as January 1, 1994 – making her 14 years and 220 days old and too young to compete at these Olympics.

The lists were compiled by the General Administration of Sport of China.

Even before anyone arrived in Beijing, American media investigations had accused China of fielding three athletes below the 16-year-old minimum age threshold. Bela Karolyi, the former US head coach, then reheated the issue by claiming that China “are using half-people” and that their flouting of the regulations was so obvious that “these people think we are stupid”.

Nastia Liukin of the US finished second behind He Kexin in the uneven bars final and would be elevated to the gold medal position should the Chinese gymnast be disqualified.

Ms He insists that she is of age. Asked by journalists about the debate, she said: “My real age is 16. I don’t care what other people say. I want other people to know that 16 is my real age.” Asked how she spent her 15th birthday, she paused and then said: “I was with my team. It was an ordinary day.”

Just nine months before the Olympics, the Chinese government’s Xinhua news agency gave Ms He’s name as 13. Officials have since dismissed that report saying Xinhua had never been given her age and had made a mistake.

Stryde, who was later named by the technology news site Information Week as Mike Walker, concludes: “Much of the coverage regarding Kexin’s age has only mentioned ‘allegations’ of fraud, and the IOC has ignored thematter completely. I believe that these primary documents, issued by the Chinese state … rise to a level of evidence higher than ‘allegation’.”

It could certainly make a difference to Britain’s Tweddle, who at 23 and relatively old for a gymnast may not be able to compete in London 2012.

Li Jia Wei ia the 4th place in world Table tennis!

Who will be the winner? Of course we hope is Li Jia Wei but Guo Yue is too lihai!

BEIJING - The U.S. men and women both dropped the baton in the Olympic 4×100-meter relays Thursday and failed to advance out of the first round in the Beijing Olympics.

First, men’s anchor Tyson Gay, part of the American team that won the relay at last year’s world championships, did not get the baton from third-leg runner Darvis Patton.

About 25 minutes later, women’s anchor Lauryn Williams fumbled her exchange with Torri Edwards, their baton dropping to the ground. At the 2004 Olympics, Williams started running too early and missed a handoff from Marion Jones in the final.

“If people want to assess the blame to me, that’s OK. I mean, I can take whatever it is that people are going to dish out,” Williams said. “We had good chemistry. The hand was back there. She was there. I don’t know what happened.”

Unlike the men, who stopped racing, Williams scrambled back on the wet track to pick up the baton and finish the lap. The United States was the last of eight teams in the heat to cross the finish, in a time of 48.95 seconds. Belgium finished first in 42.92.

Jamaica, continuing its strong showing at the Bird’s Nest, won the other preliminary women’s heat in 42.24.

Earlier, when Gay reached back for his exchange, he never got a grasp of the baton, which tumbled.

Afterward, Gay and Patton both took the blame.

Gay, who also failed to reach the final in the individual 100, said he felt the baton and “then I went to grab it and there was nothing. It’s kind of the way it’s been happening to me this Olympics.”

He said he never before dropped a baton in a relay and that he and Patton practiced all week without missing a handoff.

“That’s Tyson Gay. He’s a humble guy,” Patton said. “But I know it’s my job to get the guy the baton, and I didn’t do that.”

Trinidad and Tobago won the heat. Only four of the eight teams managed to make it all the way around the one-lap race without a problem in a light rain.

Jamaica won the second heat, with former 100 world record-holder Asafa Powell running the anchor leg. Usain Bolt, who broke the world records in the 100 and 200 while winning those gold medals, was given the night off but is expected to run in Friday’s relay final.

Latest news that Li Jia Wei has lost to Zhang Yining in the semi finals in the morning match. Li Jia Wei lost to ZHang Yining 4-1. Also a close match between the two. WIll be putting more pictures in the afternoon. Li Jia Wei will be getting ready to fight the bronze medal later in the evening.

Feng Tian Wei had a hard match with world number 1 Zhang Yining, only lost less than 2 points for every match. What a pity, not enough luck to get a easiler opponent at the easiler stage.

But we still have one hope. Li Jia Wei has got into the semi finals of Olympics 2008 for Table Tennis.

I cannot imagine someone like Jade Seah so chio will say the F*** word so frequently. I always feel that Jade Seah is one of the most pretty in mediacorp. After this incident I think I will only think of the F*** word Jade Seah says in television. I think Jade Seah also having a hard time now explaining to mediacorp about the word she says.

Congrats to Feng Tian Wei and Li Jia Wei. Feng Tian Wei has thrash her opponent by 4 - 0

Feng Tian Wei’s opponent is world ranking number 26 and she manage to thrash with outstanding result. I think she will get at least bronze medal for SIngapore. My idol now is Feng Tian Wei