IN A fiery, no-holds-barred interview with The Straits Times, Singaporean men's table-tennis player Gao Ning let fly at the two men he felt were responsible for his sour Beijing Olympics experience.

The world 12th-ranked men's player is also frustrated with what he perceived as preferential treatment accorded to the women's team.

In Gao's eyes, it is team manager Antony Lee and head coach Liu Guodong who must shoulder the blame for the fiasco, which saw him crash out, surprisingly, in the third round.

"Antony Lee and Liu Guodong embarrassed me at the Olympics," Singapore's reigning Sportsman of the Year said.

"It is a joke that they cannot even get a coach to guide me from the sidelines."

An emotional Gao, 26, who is clearly rankled by the incident, added that he's "hurt" and "furious" over the incident, The Straits Times reported. He continued: "I have no dignity left.

"I'm a men's table-tennis player representing Singapore on the biggest stage of all and they (Lee and Liu) have embarrassed me.

At the heart of Gao's gripes is what he perceived as his unequal treatment, compared with the women's aces like Li Jiawei, Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu.

Singapore's No. 1 men's player also disputed his status as a sparring partner hired by the Singapore Table Tennis Association. "I came here as a player. I have a contract as a player. When I signed in 2004, I was not told I'll be a sparring partner to the women.

"But I ended up spending more than half of my six-day training week sparring with the women.

"I was frustrated but because the women's team are Singapore's medal hope, I did not want to complain publicly and upset the country's Olympic hopes.

"The damage done to my Olympic dreams is too much. I am not afraid of speaking up now."

Following the coach's no-show incident, Singapore Table Tennis Association president Lee Bee Wah decided to remove team manager Lee and refer the fate of Liu to the coaching committee.

That drove a wedge between her and officials of the Singapore contingent, who felt her timing was poor.

Meanwhile, Shin Min Daily News yesterday reported that women's players Li and Feng have both expressed gratitude to coach Liu, while teammate Wang remained neutral on the affair.

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