Table tennis champion puts boot into $45k prize money with destructive celebration

China's newly-crowned World Cup winner Zhang Jike has been fined his entire prize money of $45,000 after a destructive celebration.

Zhang, the Olympic champion, regained the World Cup title he won in Paris three years ago by beating compatriot and top seed Ma Long in Duesseldorf in seven games.

The triumph was rated among the best of his career, but when he decided to celebrate he went a step too far by kicking and destroying two advertising hoardings.

The International Table Tennis Federation took immediate action, docking the the champion all of his prizemoney, prompting the 26-year-old reigning world champion to apologise.

"I am very sorry for what I did," Zhang told the ITTF website.

"It was not acceptable behaviour and I am sorry. This was a perfect victory, I have been under a great deal of pressure, with people questioning my form."

Earlier, Germany's Timo Boll, who lost to Zhang in the semi-finals, picked up bronze in the third-place play-off by beating Japan's Jun Mizutani in six games.