Ning competes at National Games, but shuns media questions
China’s 100-meter freestyle sprinter Ning Zetao made his first appearance representing hometown team Henan at the National Games on Sunday, clocking 49.44 seconds in the heats before topping the semifinals with 48.11 seconds.
His result in the semifinals can match the result of a fifth-place finish in the world championships which took place in July in Budapest, Hungary.
But the star swimmer declined to answer media questions afterward, only saying thanks continuously while passing through the mixed zone, following a controversial year for the swimmer since the 2016 Olympic Games.
Earlier this year he also retired from the navy and now represents Henan. The National Games is his first appearance in a major event in a year.
Born in 1993, Ning was once considered a national favorite in the short-distance swimming, but was expelled from the national team in October 2016 due to a sponsorship conflict with the national team.
In 2015, he clocked a 47.84-second finish to win gold in the men’s 100-meter freestyle at the world championships, a year after setting the Asian record in the 100-meter freestyle with 47.65 seconds at the 2014 national championships when representing the PLA Navy sports team.
Ning didn’t make it to the 100-meter freestyle final at the Rio Games, after he was banned from training with the national team, which he said made him lose 4 kilograms of muscle.
He only made it to the National Games in a heat of a low-profile qualification event in June, but after seeing his result was enough to secure him a berth for the National Games, he surprisingly quit the qualification game’s final.
Guangdong’s Yu Hexin finished the semifinal in second place with 49.32 seconds, while Ning’s teammate Hou Yujie came third with a 1.27-second gap with Ning.
Heats leader Lin Yongqing of Liaoning secured a final spot with 49.64 seconds, while Hong Kong’s Kenneth Ho trailed Lin by 0.03 seconds.
The 100-meter freestyle final will take place on Monday night.