China table tennis star Fang Bo punished for kicking towel rack during game
- 2016 world team champion member is banned for two games and his club and coach fined
- Fang’s punishment is the latest incident of unruly behaviour by top Chinese players
A member of China’s 2016 world championship winning team has taken to social media to apologise for his “negative impact” on the game after he was punished for violently kicking a towel rack during a Chinese Super League clash on New Year’s Eve.
Fang Bo, who is a member of the China national squad and was ranked eighth in men’s singles world rankings in May 2015, regretted his unruly behaviour after he took his anger out at a towel rack following a disputed call during his loss to Zhao Zhaoyan. The towel rack was next to the assistant umpire.
Fang has been banned for two matches and his club, Tianjin Quanjian, were fined 50,000 yuan. Fang’s club coach, Liu Zhiqiang, was also fined 10,000 yuan. Fang was a member of the Chinese team that won the 2016 world team championships in Shah Alam, Malaysia.
Watch the towel rack-kicking incident (at 31:10)
“I regret my behaviour after the game. Firstly, it has given my team a bad reputation. There were children among those attending the game and it had a negative impact. I feel sorry!” Fang said in his Weibo account.