TT champ stripped of prize money

China’s world and Olympic table tennis champion Zhang Jike may face further action after being stripped of $45,000 in prize money for damaging advertising hoardings during over enthusiastic victory celebrations at a tournament in Germany. Jike kicked an advertising hoarding next to the court, breaking it, after beating fellow Chinese player Ma Long in the Liebherr men’s World Cup final in Dusseldorf on Sunday. He then ran to the opposite side of the arena and shattered a second advertising board with a flying kick, before stripping off his shirt and throwing it into the crowd. While International Table Tennis Federation described the match as being ‘of the highest quality’, it was less impressed by Zhang’s celebration, deciding to withhold his prize money.