An Olympic diving champion harassed, a gymnast chased to the toilets or a gold medalist insulted: China is launching an offensive against the behavior it considers “toxic” of these fans who are a little too enterprising or aggressive.
The popularity of certain athletes in China, catalyzed by social networks, has led to the emergence of communities of admirers, whose actions are sometimes excessive and which spill over into the athletes’ private lives.
The young star Quan Hongchan (17 years old, 1.50m), double gold medallist in Paris in diving after having already been Olympic champion in Tokyo, now enjoys enormous popularity on the internet.
A celebrity who draws crowds worthy of pop stars in his wake… but who are sometimes overwhelming.
So many curious onlookers flock to her village in southern Guangdong province that the teenager has decided not to return home after the Games.
And in recent days, during a visit by the Chinese Olympic delegation to Macau (southern China), Quan Hongchan was photographed in tears after being followed to her hotel and surrounded by an army of admirers.
Gymnast Zhang Boheng had to take refuge in the toilets of Beijing airport to escape his delirious fans.
How can we explain these excesses?
Jian Xu, a professor at Deakin University in Australia, says the increasing participation of athletes in television shows and online events has made them celebrities.
– Internet user arrested –
The result, he says, is that their lives have become a kind of “entertainment” for the general public.
For better or for worse. Because while some are seen as national heroes, others are victims of attacks on the internet.
Gymnast Su Weide, 24, was insulted on social media after falling twice during the high bar event in Paris.
“He dragged the whole team down with him,” criticized one user on the social network Weibo, while others accused him of earning his place through his “connections” rather than his talent.
The madness of some fans was even more evident during the all-Chinese final of the women’s singles table tennis match at the 2024 Olympics between Chen Meng (30 years old) and Sun Yingsha (23 years old).
The latter received strong support from spectators and Internet users, while its elder, much less popular, was vilified by the public and many social media users.
A few days later, the police announced the arrest of an Internet user who had posted an insulting message.
Since then, at least five people have been arrested or punished for insulting Chinese athletes or coaches on the internet, as part of this fight against the excesses of certain fans.
Pan Zhanle, the 20-year-old swimmer who shattered the 100m freestyle world record by winning gold in Paris, has since disbanded his official fan club on Weibo.
– “Correct vision” –
Members of these online clubs often have total loyalty to their idols, whose careers they defend and promote… sometimes to the point of denigrating those who overshadow them.
According to Professor Jian Xu, many young Chinese have turned to athletes after authorities stepped up surveillance in 2021 on fan clubs of movie and music celebrities – groups that were also guilty of some excesses at the time.
Fans then thought that sport was “a relatively safe area” because of its importance “to the nation,” Jian Xu says.
“They can express their pride and patriotism by supporting their sporting idols,” he says.
But authorities now seem to think that this enthusiasm is going too far.
The General Administration of Sport, the main body governing sports in China, last week condemned the excesses of these fan clubs which “harm the reputation of the sports world”.
Its director Gao Zhidan called on the athletes themselves to play their role as examples for young people by having “a correct outlook on life” and “a rational view of fame and fortune”.
sam/ehl/sbr/smr
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