Athens Olympic doubles champions Li Ting and Sun Tiantian will be
separated and paired up with other players for the qualifying
rounds of the
Beijing Olympics.
Sun Jinfang, Director of the Tennis Administrative Centre of
General Administration of Sport, on Thursday announced the decision
was made due to Li and Sun's under-par fitness levels, despite
their gold medals at the Athens Olympiad in 2004.
Sun said Li Ting and Sun Tiantian have tried re-partnering with
Sun Shengnan and Ji Chunmei respectively. The final line-up for the
Olympic Games will be determined according to the WTA ranking and
form of individual players by mid-2007.
The director also revealed Li Na and Peng Shuai may compete in
the doubles event. He also confirmed that Australian Open and
Wimbledon Open doubles champions Zheng Jie and Yan Zi would
definitely compete in the 2008 Olympics.
(CRI January 5, 2007)
