¡¡¡¡HONG KONG, Oct. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- Lee Lai Shan, Hong Kong's only Olympic gold medalist ever, would not retire as previously rumored after being discharged from a hospital three weeks ago, Hong Kong media reported.

¡¡¡¡Lee declared herself fit and healthy for her title defense at the World Championships in Pattaya in five weeks, After recoveringfrom abdominal pains which forced her to rush home before she could attend the presentation of her gold for winning the women's mistral class at the Busan Asian Games three weeks ago.

¡¡¡¡"I may be a little stubborn but once I set my target I'm determined to achieve it. I want to win an Olympic ticket for HongKong at the worlds", Lee was quoted as saying in Thursday's edition of South China Morning Post.

¡¡¡¡Nicknamed Shan Shan by locals, the 32-years-old Hong Kong heroine will spearhead Hong Kong squad at December 8-15 World Championships, which double as a qualifier for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

¡¡¡¡"I will terminate my medicine next week and begin training on the water and in the gym. My body conditions have been close to normal", said the reigning world champion and 1996 Olympic champion.

¡¡¡¡"My fittest weight is 58 kilograms and it's now close to that although there is less muscle mass and a little more fat. My lowest weight had dropped to 54.5 kilograms when I suffered from the pain", said Shan Shan.

¡¡¡¡Lee Lai Shan succeeded in defending her Asian Games title in Busan with three races to spare but the endured pains forced her to rush home and missed the medals presentation ceremony followed.

¡¡¡¡After spending three nights at the Hong Kong Sanitarium undergoing diagnostic tests, it was found the inflammation of the bile duct of her gall bladder was the source of her pains. Enditem