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Pingpong: Kong listed in roll of men's doubles in Asian qualifiers
The biggest suspension came to a happy ending as Sydney Olympic champion Kong Linghui was finally recruited to the men's doubles lineup in the Asian qualifiers and given a chance to go to Athens. Cai Zhenhua, national head coach announced here on Sunday that Kong Linghui/Wang Hao were the top choice and Ma Lin/Chen Qi earned the second tickets to compete at the 2004 Olympic Games table tennis Asian qualifying tournament. However, it was a heartbreaking moment for defending Olympic champions Wang Liqin/Yan Sen who were the losers in the cruel pick-ups among the three top pairs. Cai said: "It is the hardest decision I've ever made in my coaching career. It was hard to choose two out of three best men's doubles in the team." Cai cited Kong's experience, sportsmanship and superb skill of controlling the game for his recruitment while Yan's injury the major reason for his drop-out. Cai revealed that the second choice Ma/Chen had a showdown against Wang/Yan on Sunday afternoon with Ma/Chen winning 4-2. "For the best of Chinese table tennis, we had to put personal feelings aside," Cai said.
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