Table tennis player ignored ahead of Olympics

Vietnam's leading table tennis player Doan Kien Quoc at a recent tournaments in Vietnam. Vietnam's table tennis star Doan Kien Quoc, who was Southeast Asia's sole representative at the 2004 Athens Olympics, has again qualified but is hardly getting any support from the federation to prepare for Beijing.

Quoc, ranked 242 in the world, won the regional qualifier in Singapore last month to join Singapore's Gao Ninh, ranked world number 10, and Yang Zi, number 23. After his excellent victory, however, the 24-year-old is now back at his club in Khanh Hoa Province rather than preparing with the national team. He is practicing by himself under Khanh Hoa Club's trainer Nguyen Minh Dat. Sometimes his younger brother Doan Trong Nghia practices with him. "I don't have any word about further training from the National Sports Committee," Quoc says. "I hope I can attend international competitions in preparation for the Olympics." The only meaningful competition on the horizon for him is the National Table Tennis Championship in May, three months before the Olympics in August. Surprisingly, the sports authorities are overlooking table tennis though they are taking good care of other sports. For taekwondo, for instance, they have a comprehensive training program, including friendlycompetitions with the Korean national team. Quoc was able to prepare better for the Athens Olympics, including a year's training with the national team and several competitions in China. But even that was not good enough to produce a medal for the country. He says, "The Olympics seem too difficult for Vietnamese athletes even with good preparation. "I was very sad I couldn't win a medal at the previous Olympics." Experts believe that strong opponents at the Olympics will not faze Quoc, and that he could even collect a prominent scalp or two. But it remains to be seen if he can overcome this apathy shown by sports officials. Source: SGGP