New Delhi - AFP
China's three-time Olympic gold medal winning speed skater Wang Meng has been dropped from the national team following a drunken brawl with the manager, the country's governing body for sport said. Wang, 26, violated codes of conduct and tarnished the team's reputation, the General Administration of Sport said in a statement on its website. "This is an abominable incident where athletes violated codes of conduct and ethics. It tarnished the national short speed skating team's reputation and Chinese athletes' image," the statement said. The athlete fought with her team manager after she was admonished for returning late to a training camp following a night out drinking, the statement, published Thursday, said. Wang, the most decorated Chinese Winter Olympic athlete ever with four gold medals, a silver and a bronze, apologised on her blog saying: "I'm sorry. I'm only an ordinary person." Wang and teammate Liu Xianwei were expelled from Team China, disqualified from competing at international events and kicked down to a provincial-level squad. The pair, along with another Olympic gold medalist Zhou Yang and three other teammates, were busted for for a late night drinking binge in the port city of Qingdao on July 24. Upon their late return to training camp, Wang and Liu assaulted the angry team manager. Wang returned to her room and smashed furniture, injuring her hands. Wang said on her blog that she would hold a press conference "to tell everybody the truth."