Build the hope

Of Kong's four students, Guo may be the most outstanding. At the age of 16, she was champion of the women's team for the Corbillon Cup at the World Table Tennis Championships in 2004, becoming the youngest world table tennis champion. Guo later retained her women's singles crown at an open international tournament on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Pro Tour in 2004, was a mixed doubles champion at the 2005 World Champions in China, and won a team gold medal at the Corbillon Cup in 2006.

Kong believes "tomboy" Guo might be the next Chinese female table tennis legend after Deng Yaping and Wang. Guo's style goes with the trend for female ping pong athletes to play more like men. She is more aggressive in playing the game than Wang, for example. She shows unbending spirit, as well as a swift and fierce offense, and could be one of the stars of next year's Olympics, according to her coach.

According to the Olympic Games' rules, the No.1 singles player cannot take part in doubles matches included in the team game. This has made deciding on who will fill that position something of a headache for Kong.

If Zhang is chosen as the No.1 singles player it would leave Wang and Guo, both left-handers, in the doubles, which would not make a match. Arguably the best option would be to pick Guo as the No.1 singles player, so that Zhang and Wang could team up in the doubles.

So the key question is whether Guo will be ready for the lead singles role come the Olympics. Together the Chinese women's team makes a formidable force, with Guo's vitality, Wang's rich experience and Zhang's comprehensive skills, according to some experts.

It is probably because of her potential that Guo was among the first batch of students Kong took on. Gu Zhenjiang, the head coach of the Liaoning female table tennis team, who used to coach Guo, believes that the young player will benefit a lot from Kong.

"Kong will impart to her the most advanced techniques and tactics that he gained through numerous battles. Besides, he's just retired and can serve as a trial horse for Guo as he's still in command of his skills," said Gu.

Young Coach: the Beginning

Kong, whose father is also a table tennis coach, started playing ping pong when he was 6 years old. During his 25-year career Kong produced many memorable moments of table tennis brilliance, of which two definitely deserve mentioning.

One was in 1995, when the 20-year-old Kong won his first men's singles title in gripping style at the World Table Tennis Championships. Another was at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 when he defeated Swedish star Waldner by a tiny margin and then kissed the Chinese national flag printed on his T-shirt, howled and burst into tears.