For many fans of the Chinese national table tennis team, the "Twin Stars Era" led by Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui, as well as the "Three Musketeers Era" dominated by Ma Long, Xu Xin, and Zhang Jike, are two periods of great fame for the national team. However, even famous national players have their dark sides.
It means that while the "Twin Stars" and "Three Musketeers" did usher in a new era, there were also national players who strayed from the right path. Among the Twin Stars, Kong Linghui, known as the "Prince of Table Tennis," was one who went astray; among the Three Musketeers, it was Zhang Jike who bore the brunt of criticism.
Zhang Jike's scandals are not discussed here, but suffice it to say that he has now fallen to the point of coaching at a private club. On the other hand, Xu Xin and Ma Long of the Three Musketeers have promising futures and developments. Kong Linghui of the Twin Stars, however, became a pariah due to accumulating huge gambling debts.
Gradually disappearing from the sports world, if not for older fans, few people would have a deep impression of the name Kong Linghui. The time when Kong Linghui's huge gambling debt was exposed was May 2017, manifested as becoming the defendant in a lawsuit.
The plaintiff in this case was Marina Bay Sands Pte.Ltd., the operating company of Singapore's Marina Bay Sands Casino. In the complaint, Marina Bay Sands mentioned that Kong Linghui borrowed 1 million Singapore dollars from the casino on February 19, 2015.
If converted into RMB, it should have been 4.94 million yuan according to the exchange rate at that time. However, Kong Linghui only repaid 545,600 Singapore dollars, leaving nearly 454,300 Singapore dollars, or 2.25 million yuan, unpaid.
Seeing that Kong Linghui was not repaying his debt, the Singapore casino chose to sue him. However, the Singapore casino filed the lawsuit in Hong Kong, with the court being the High Court of Hong Kong. Due to the high profile of the Hong Kong High Court, the Singapore casino, and Kong Linghui,
Once this news broke, it attracted the attention of countless people around the world. Regarding this matter, Kong Linghui gave his own answer on social media platforms: "In February 2015, I took my parents and relatives and friends on a four-day trip to Singapore during the Spring Festival holiday.
During the trip to Singapore, the hotel where we stayed happened to be located downstairs from the casino. It was my relatives and friends who went in to gamble, and I just watched from the side and left my personal information. It was only after the media exposed this incident that I immediately inquired about the details from my relatives and friends.
Later, I learned that my relatives and friends still had unresolved debts with the casino, which led to me being involved in the lawsuit. I have requested the person who owes the debt to come forward to clarify the facts as soon as possible. During this period, I will reserve the right to use legal means to protect myself."
From Kong Linghui's explanation, at least three doubts can be seen. First, the fact that the hotel is located downstairs from the casino seems too abrupt. As a former national table tennis player, Kong Linghui could not have been unaware of the matters that national athletes should avoid.
Although Kong Linghui had become the head coach of the women's national table tennis team at that time, the head coach should set an example even more. If he lacked such awareness, it would indicate that Kong Linghui had a poor reputation during his time as a national player, a judgment that has proven to be extremely accurate.
More importantly, living downstairs from the casino is one thing. But daring to go to the casino without avoiding suspicion to watch relatives and friends gamble is already a blatant challenge to China's regulations and disciplinary requirements for public officials. If no punishment is given, the regulations would be meaningless;
The second point is how could Kong Linghui not know about his relatives and friends' gambling debts? Or how could the gambling debts of his relatives and friends lead to the Singapore entertainment company suing Kong Linghui? Given Kong Linghui's status and financial resources, things should not have escalated to this extent.
It means that Kong Linghui was very famous as an athlete and had taken on many commercial advertisements. After becoming the head coach of the women's national table tennis team, his salary and benefits were also generous. Even two million yuan should not have been an insurmountable obstacle for Kong Linghui.
For ordinary families, this amount of more than two million yuan may be an astronomical figure. But for Kong Linghui, two million is nothing; The third point is that Kong Linghui's statement seems self-serving, at least his relatives and friends need to come forward to explain the situation.
However, Kong Linghui did not mention this point, which is quite strange: clearly not the original debtor, yet showing great concern. Finally, he even expressed a clear stance of active defense, fearing that others might attack and slander him over this matter.
Such an attitude is too abnormal. If there is really only one explanation for this matter, it must be that Kong Linghui himself owes money and has not repaid it. As to why it has not been repaid, it is likely that he cannot afford to do so. Just like Zhang Jike's gambling addiction that he couldn't quit.
Zhang Jike's exposure of a shocking scandal with Jing Tian originated from his inability to repay gambling debts. And Kong Linghui's disappearance from the sports world later also well illustrates this point. If it were really Kong Linghui's relatives and friends who owed money, his punishment would not have been so severe.
Such severe punishment often implies only one possibility. That is, he has already substantially crossed the line, and under an intolerable situation, Kong Linghui had to pay the price for his actions. After Kong Linghui was suspended from his post, Li Sun became the head coach of the women's national table tennis team.
Later, Li Sun even rose to replace Liu Guoliang and became the head coach of the national table tennis team. Although Li Sun is known as the "Father of Grand Slams," he is the head coach of the national table tennis team who has never been an athlete in the national team. At the same time, Li Sun is also the oldest head coach in the history of the national table tennis team.
Replacing Kong Linghui with Li Sun and taking away the opportunities that originally belonged to Kong Linghui undoubtedly expresses a certain attitude silently. So what did Kong Linghui choose to do after the gambling debt scandal? Is he now living a simple life or still enjoying it?
Does he feel regretful? For whether or not he regrets it, the public obviously does not need Kong Linghui himself to personally answer this question. Because everyone already has an answer in their hearts. At the same time, according to the content displayed on Kong Linghui's personal social media platform, he is selling purple clay pots.
From being a national player to the head coach of the women's national table tennis team and then becoming a merchant doing business with purple clay pots, such an ending is somewhat bittersweet. However, from a certain perspective, this ending is not bad, and not being thrown into prison is already the greatest blessing.
Although the money earned from selling purple clay pots may not be as much as before, it is still possible to live a simple life. Moreover, the aura around Kong Linghui has not faded, and in the hearts of some fans, Kong Linghui made an indelible contribution to the national table tennis team, which cannot be forgotten.
Therefore, there are still quite a number of fans who occasionally go to support Kong Linghui's business. The only regret is that Kong Linghui remains single to this day. Kong Linghui previously had a long-term relationship with actress Ma Su, but the result was a peaceful breakup.
If Kong Linghui could have achieved a happy ending with Ma Su, would he have devoted more thoughts and attention to his career and family at that time, thus completely reining in his bad habits? Perhaps the answer to this question is something only Kong Linghui himself can deeply understand.