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Diving champion Tian Liang will still do some show business as a
professional athlete, according to his agent Liu Tao.
Liu made these remarks on the weekend because there had been rumors
that for various reasons Tian would stay away from show business.
One rumor said CCTV's Chinese Lunar New Year show had
changed its mind about inviting Tian to appear in the show.
Another said he had
violated a contract with Hong Kong-based Emperor Entertainment Group and
therefore would compensate the company about 10 million yuan (US$1.2
million).
According to Liu, Tian has currently suspended all
business activities and is in full
swing
to prepare for a national sports meet. But he denied
Tian would stay away from show business or he had broken the contract.
Liu received many calls about Tian when he returned from Xi'an, where
Tian is based, to Beijing on Friday. A report said Tian had expressed he
would have nothing to do with show business and he would dismiss his agent
if the country's swimming authorities asked him to. Liu said he was
surprised by the report and phoned Tian immediately.
Later that day, after talking with Tian, Liu told some reporters Tian
had never made any remarks about firing his agent. He also cleared all
rumors about the diver.
According to Liu, CCTV's Chinese Lunar New Year show had never
contacted Tian. He dismissed it as rumor that the show organizers had
changed their decision to ask Tian to appear in the show after the diver
was expelled from the national diving team.
As for the contract, Tian's training and contest
will always take precedence over entertainment activities, and this has
been clearly stated in the contract, according to Liu. He dismissed it as
nonsense
that Tian
had broken the contract.
Liu said the current priority for Tian was to train for the national
games and the Olympics to be held in Beijing in 2008. He also said a photo
album of Tian would be published in April or May.
(Shenzhen daily) | 
Updated: 2005-02-01 11:06
