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By Lin Xinyi & Terrence Voon
'I SINCERELY apologise.'
Ms Lee Bee Wah, the president of the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA), had those words for the country last night.
Her comments last weekend, that she would replace the Singapore table tennis team manager, unleashed a storm of criticism and calls for her resignation.
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Sombre faces as crisis ends
Silver medallists say few words; coach emphasises his affection for Singapore
By Terrence Voon
THERE were few smiles and even fewer words when Olympic silver medallists Li Jiawei, Wang Yuegu and Feng Tianwei faced reporters yesterday in a packed conference room at the STTA's Toa Payoh headquarters.
Key players in the controversy, like team manager Antony Lee and head coach Liu Guodong, sat quietly as table tennis chief Lee Bee Wah and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan fielded questions from the media.
Amid the sombre proceedings, it was revealed that Liu, whose future was one of the flashpoints in the week-long debacle, is likely to stay on after all.
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Antony Lee staying on for 3 more months
By Terrence Voon
MR ANTONY Lee, the man whose removal from his job as Singapore's team manager shocked an entire nation, is staying on after all.
But it will be for only another three months.
The 38-year-old was blamed for the fiasco at the Olympics, where Singapore's top male paddler Gao Ning lost his third-round singles match without a coach by his side.
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Sports fans say it's a gracious apology
By Leonard Lim
A GRACIOUS gesture.
That was the general sentiment among 20 high-ranking members of the sports fraternity and Singaporeans polled by The Straits Times for their reaction to the apology by table tennis chief Lee Bee Wah yesterday.
With that 'I'm sorry', they added, it is time to leave the incident behind and work towards the 2012 Olympics in London.
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Minister praises past president's role
FORMER Singapore Table Tennis Association president Choo Wee Khiang's efforts in bringing the sport to where it is today were highlighted yesterday.
In response to a journalist's suggestion that current president Lee Bee Wah was brought in last month to 'clean up the house', Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan said: 'I must say I am very uncomfortable with that line of questioning because I want to say there's one more person we need to acknowledge, and that's Mr Choo.
'He has dedicated many, many years of his life to table tennis.
For more, visit straitstimes.com
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