DOHA, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Ma Lin, China's top male paddler entered into the Asian Games, denied Tuesday that he had said something madcap after leading his team to win the Asiad title of men's team event on Sunday.

    According to a report by South News of Nanfang Daily, a local newspaper based in south China's Guangdong province, Ma told reporters that Wednesday's team final had been won in a very easy way, so easy that China could have won it by sending five second-string players.

    "No, I never said that," said Ma while hearing about the story after Tuesday evening's comeback win over Chinese Taipei's Chiang Peng Lung in the men's quarterfinals.

    The report also said that Chinese coach Liu Guoliang had turned down Ma's remarks and blamed Ma a swagger.

    "That's nonsense! How dare he say that? I think we could have lost the match even if I sent other two or three players on court," the report quoted Liu as saying.

    The Chinese trio of Ma Lin, Wang Hao and Chen Qi beat South Korea 3-0 in the final, while Ma Long and Hao Shuai were benched.

    Ma Lin, quadruple World Cup winner, has long been painted as a top paddler with a moral defect, once being rumored to abuse a cabdriver during last year's national championships.