Olympic table tennis doubles champion Chen Qi has been sent to the countryside for "re-education".

Hard labour in the fields surrounding Pan Tao -- a village in China's northern province of Hebei -- is the latest instalment of team discipline to befall 21-year-old Chen after he lost his cool at an international table tennis event over two months ago.

After losing to compatriot Wang Hao in the men's final at the Asia Cup in Japan on March 5, Chen flung the ball to the ground and kicked a chair into the air.

The unsportsmanlike act earned Chen a "list" of penalties from teammates, the Beijing Times said.

He can now add "levelling dirt... weeding and plucking cucumbers," as part of his rehabilitation, which has also involved heavy fines, a lengthy benching and a televised public apology.

Chen is expected to spend a week in the fields before he joins Jiangsu teammates ahead of the domestic league season.

Chinese athletes are held to strict standards of conduct and are expected to put national duties above personal interests. Expectations in table tennis, a sport China has long dominated and considers its national game, are especially steep.

Sending players into rural areas was an idea the team had raised before, the Beijing Times quoted national team coach Liu Guoliang as saying.

"If the education proves effective, we'll consider sending the whole team," Liu said.

Editor: Donald