A group of Chinese lawmakers has called on
China's parliament to recall Olympic diving champion Tian Liang to the national team
for the 2008 Beijing Games.
The two-time 10m platform Olympic gold medallist was kicked off the diving
team after the Athens Games in 2004 for spending too much time on commercial
activities and refusing to train.
But the proposal to the ongoing parliamentary session filed by a lawyer and
20 lawmakers from Chongqing, Tian's home city in Sichuan province, said the
28-year-old was too good to be left out of the team.
"The country has spent a big sum of
money developing Olympic champions like Tian. No one has the authority to drop a
good athlete," said the proposal.
Tian was expelled from the national squad two years ago but refused to
apologise for trying to cash in on his fame with lucrative commercial contracts
that upset China's sports administration.
But after maintaining that there was no way back for Tian, China's national
diving team manager, Zhou Jihong, appeared to relent last week, saying that the
former champion still had a chance.
"The national team squad is open to all good athletes," he was quoted as
saying in the Shanghai Morning Post.
But Tian -- who has not trained for months -- must prove himself by winning
back his place at a series of national trials and national championships between
now the Olympics.
"Winning a chance to compete at international competitions
including the Olympics is not a result of popularity or reputation. It is about
ability," said Li Hua, director of the Swimming Administrative Centre, which
runs the sport.
