 Qi Hong particularly endeared himself to the national team when he scored three key goals in the Asian zone second stage in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup finals against United Arab Emirates and Oman to send China to their first World Cup.Highly respected, Qi Hong was often the key to the Chinese attack on the pitch even though he lacked the physical presence of others, yet he was the leader on the football pitch and was a very popular and respected footballer despite being a low-key and modest character.On October 12, 2010, Qi Hong was reported to have been detained by the police and was said to be involved in fixing the November 30, 2003 league game against Tianjin Teda F.C.