Kong Linghui, the head coach of China's women's table tennis team, was suspended from duty on Tuesday in the midst of the world championships after media reported that he is being sued by a hotel in Singapore over a gambling debt.
The Chinese Table Tennis Association announced its decision to suspend the two-time Olympic gold medalist on its website on Tuesday, adding that it has asked the 41-year-old Kong to immediately return to China from the ongoing World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf, Germany for further investigation.
The decision was made based on Kong's response to media reports, and his behavior has severely violated regulations on the management of government personnel, said the association.
Also on Tuesday, the General Administration of Sport said that it would "take stern actions regarding Kong's issue." It also apologized for the "negative influence" caused by the incident and promised an investigation into the matter.
Kong is facing a HK$2.56 million ($327,000) lawsuit in a Hong Kong court over his alleged gambling debt to Singapore's Marina Bay Sands hotel, the Hong Kong Economic Times reported.
Documents submitted to The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region say that Kong signed a credit agreement in 2015 to borrow S$1 million ($720,300) from the hotel for gambling, according to the report, adding that Kong still owed S$454,375. The court documents were sent to the "Chinese Table Tennis Association" but not to Kong's personal home address.
Kong wrote on his Sina Weibo account on Monday that he did not gamble himself, adding that he only gave the money to friends and family members so they could use it to gamble at the hotel.
"I did not even know that I was involved in a lawsuit until the media exposed it. I called my friends immediately and learnt that someone have not fully repaid the money," he said.
"Everyone is equal before the law. The more social influence a celebrity has, the more self-disciplined he or she should be," Ma Dexing, deputy editor of the Changsha-based Titan Sports newspaper, told the Global times on Tuesday.
Ma added that Kong's scandal also sends a message to sports celebrities, especially those who serve at government organizations or national teams, to behave themselves.
Kong was widely supported on social media, with many saying that they believe Kong was unrelated to the debt and some saying that even if Kong owns the money, he did not pay back the debt because of the foreign exchange quota limit.
