For two years Wang Hao would wake up in the middle of the night, feeling utterly alone.

The 23-year-old table tennis star was troubled by a recurring nightmare - losing to South Korean rival Rye Seung-min in front of a packed arena near the faraway Aegean Sea.

The match was the men's singles final at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and the 5-1 thrashing he endured threatened to cast a shadow over the rest of his career.

Three years on, however, and Wang is sleeping sound. He has finally beaten his rival Rye, and is looking well positioned to go for gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"That summer made me a man," Wang told Table Tennis World magazine. "I called my mother six times that night, I cried many times. I lost my confidence and kept on blaming myself for the loss. I cannot believe I conquered the nightmare.

"But now I am more mature, and I'm hungrier for victory. I feel I am tougher than ever before."

The turning point for Wang came in December last year, when he swept the highly-competitive Doha Asian Games and International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Pro Tour Finals.

He took revenge on Rye in Doha, where he beat him in both singles and the team competition.

"I really needed the success at the Asian Games, it was a dream come true. But I have a bigger dream - to play at my top level at the Beijing Games. That's my ultimate goal," Wang was quoted as saying on Sina.com earlier this month.

"(December) was a new beginning for me, and it ended my dark days that followed the Athens defeat."

Despite being one of the world's top table tennis players, Wang Hao was written off by many in China after Athens because of his supposed weak mentality.

He failed to win a major event for two years, losing to teammate Wang Liqin at the National Games finals in 2005 and then bowing to Ma Lin at the World Cup last year.

"I didn't know what I was going to do after the Athens Games," he was quoted as saying on Sina.com. "There was a lot of pressure and criticism. I think it was my family who helped me stay on track."

Wang said his 2006 success taught him how to win again.

"The latest victories helped me realize that I can win big tournaments. I don't want to reach the finals and only finish runner-up. I don't want to be a No 2. I now know I should be calm and positive," he was quoted as saying by Titan Sports in January.

Wang's father Wang Zhongquan believes his son has every chance of winning gold in Beijing.

"I was overwhelmed watching him play at the Asian Games," he told Table Tennis World.

"He has stepped out of the Athens shadow and has become a great man with great motivation. I am confident that he is able to stand on top of the podium at the Beijing Olympics."

However, national team head coach Liu Guoliang believes Wang Hao still needs to be more aggressive.

"You have to be dare to think big and that's Wang Hao's problem," Liu, a former world champion, told Table Tennis World. "Sometimes he is too modest. It seems he doesn't have the desire to be world No 1 or beat Wang Liqin. He has too many runner-up trophies."

Wang Hao will vie for the three places on the men's Olympic team with Wang Liqin, Ma Lin, Hao Shuai, Chen Qi and Ma Long.

(China Daily March 1, 2007)