PARIS, Aug 7 (Reuters) – China's top table tennis player Chen Meng has called on Chinese fans to be more considerate towards their country's athletes after tensions flared between rival fans at the Olympics and a woman who posted defamatory comments was arrested by Beijing police.
China has so far swept all three gold medals in table tennis and won a gold and silver medal in women's singles, but their success has not pleased a fan base that is divided among its top players.
“I still hope that they can properly face the wins and losses of their players on the field. I believe that if you follow sports, you should be mentally prepared to bear these results,” Chen said after China beat Taiwan 3-0 on Wednesday to reach the team semi-finals.
“That's the appeal of competitive sports.”
Tensions are evident both at the South Paris Arena and online among Chinese fans who support different players, each with their own fan club.
Sun Yingsha, the 23-year-old who won gold in mixed doubles, is one of the most popular Chinese athletes on Weibo, with more than five million followers.
Thousands of fans came to Paris to support her, hoping to beat the 30-year-old Chen and establish herself as the new leader of Chinese table tennis.
Unfortunately, Sun lost to Chen in the rematch, despite having beaten him at the Tokyo Olympics three years earlier.
Throughout the match, the cheers for Sun visibly grew louder, and every time Sun scored a goal, Chen was booed by his enthusiastic fans, drawing criticism online.
Chen consoled Sun after the match and encouraged him to keep trying, but that did not stop furious fans from venting their anger online.
“Obviously, when it comes to competitions, everyone naturally wants their favorite athlete to win,” Chen said.
“But in every game there are always winners and losers, so I hope (fans) will focus on appreciating the fighting spirit and perseverance that the players show on the field.”
Beijing police reported that they arrested a 29-year-old woman for allegedly posting derogatory comments about Chinese players and coaches on social media after the women's singles final.
Popular Chinese microblogging site Weibo said it had removed more than 12,000 posts and banned over 300 accounts due to “illegal” comments.
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Reporting by Crystal Hu in Paris; Editing by Claire Fallon
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