Hong Kong's table tennis queens Chai Po-wa and Chan Tan-lui will continue to represent the territory until the end of the year, according to coach David Cheng.
Chai and Chan lost in the quarter-finals of the Olympic women's doubles and bowed out of the singles in contrasting fashion to leave a question mark over their future participation in international competitions. Cheng said: 'They will be playing in the World Cup in Hong Kong in September and the Asian Championships in December.
'After that, I am not sure. Chan is studying in Australia and it is difficult for her to devote as much time to competition as before. The players have done a good job for Hong Kong. I do not know how we will replace them.' Cheng's future at the Hong Kong Sports Institute is also unclear. His contract is up at the end of the year and he is still to discuss a renewal. He said: 'I will have to talk to [Institute director] Dennis Whitby when I get back to see what can be worked out.' He is still bitter about Chai's controversial exit from the singles. The fifth seed was docked a penalty point for banging the table as she prepared to serve to save her last 16 game with North Korea's Kim Hyon-hui. The Hong Kong delegation protested about the way Cuban umpire Dagoberto Egozcue handled the game and the International Table Tennis Federation met to discuss the complaint. 'We have not been told officially about the outcome of the meeting but I hope he does not handle another big game - he is not fit to umpire at the Olympics,' Cheng said.