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Japan relying on former Chinese turncoat in Olympic table tennis
SYDNEY, Sept 14 (AFP) - Japanese table tennis officials are keeping under wraps a former Chinese world champion who will be their best weapon in their bid to smash China's dominance in the sport. Chire Koyama, 35, who won the 1987 world women's singles title by allegedly resisting a team order to throw the final to her teammate, was still training at home on Thursday, two days after the rest of the team arrived here. "She will keep on spending as much time as possible back there before coming to the venue," said Japanese women's coach Kinji Kondo. "The four other women have been training here in a relaxed mood for their first Olympics." Koyama, who finished only sixth both in the singles and doubles at the 1996 Atlanta Games, was scheduled to fly in here on Saturday from her base in Osaka, western Japan. That will still give her ample to prepare for the final tournament, which will start on September 22. As the world's number-six, she is eligible to bypass the qualifying round. "This is my second Olympics and I can count on my experience," Koyama said earlier at home. But she pointed out that more than 20 former Chinese table tennis stars, who have emigrated to such countries as Germany and Taiwan, are trying to unseat China who swept all the four table tennis titles in Atlanta. Japan aim to win their first medal of any colour since table tennis made its Olympic debut at the Seoul Games in 1988. "You cannot win a gold medal if you don't have power but I don't find it hard to fight them," Koyama said. Whatever the outcome may be, it will add to her up-and-down career. Koyama, who was born in Shanghai as He Zhili, was remembered as the first to revolt against team orders to arrange world-class finals between Chinese. A year after her alleged rebellion, she was dropped from China's Olympic squad in 1988 although she remained number-one in the world and won her third straight Asian championship. The decision, blamed on her health by the Chinese federation, forced her into retirement and led her to leave here country and marry Japanese table tennis coach Hideyuki Koyama in 1989. She has left no stone unturned in her interviews with Chinese media. With her trademark shake-hands and topspin attacks, Koyama came back to competitive life in 1991 with her husband as coach and won the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima. But her marriage has since got onto the rocks and the couple are negotiating a divorce. Koyama said she was not sure if she would retire for ever after the Sydney Games. "But I will never give up table tennis. After I retire, I want to coach players to be ranked in the world's top 10," she said.
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