China’s sports fanatics told to stop harassing athletes — ‘refrain from chaos’

The Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) has issued a warning to the public about harassing athletes after repeated incidents where they were filmed and followed by fans.

The General Administration of Sport of China jointly released a statement with the COC, asking fans to show respect and to avoid unsavoury behaviour towards the athletes.

“It seems that these ‘low-level fans’ are driven by their love for idols and impulsively make irrational actions that endanger the normal order of events, public order and good customs, sportsmanship and social morality,” the statement read.

“Vigorously promote the spirit of Chinese sports, allowing athletes to feel at ease and concentrate on their work, so as to better exert the power of sports role models.”

The statement references several instances where fans overstepped their boundaries. Last week, Chiharu Shida, a women’s badminton doubles player from Japan, spoke out about fans following her back to her hotel during the China Badminton Masters in Shenzhen.

“Please keep an appropriate distance to ensure the respect of both parties,” Shida wrote on social media. “Excessive physical contact may make someone feel uncomfortable or uneasy.”

Recently, a video surfaced showing Chinese national table tennis player Wang Chuqin in a rage after fans followed him in the airport. Afterwards, the 23-year-old said that he did not like being filmed.

Similarly, Yang Shuyu, a basketball player from China’s Yunnan province, had said, “Don’t [follow me] at the airport. I don’t like it. See you on the court, thank you.”

Chinese diving prodigy Quan Hongchan was shocked when her fans berated the judges at the National Diving Championships last week, after the 16-year-old finished second behind Chen Yuxi.

The incident prompted Olympic diving champion He Chong to speak out against the “fandom-oriented thinking”, saying the actions were “dangerous” and could be a detriment to the success and livelihood of athletes.

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It is not the first time the COC has addressed the issue of fan involvement. In 2021, the it released a similar statement saying that “some fans have pulled and pushed athletes in public places such as airports, causing negative social impact”.

The release continued by demanding these fans “refrain from initiating or participating in the chaos … [in the] sports field”.