Chinese Olympic gold medallist condemns ‘malicious’ online abuse
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Lin Xiaojun and Liu Shaoang colliding during the World Cup men's 500m final.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Follow topic:
BEIJING – An Olympic and world champion short-track speed skater said he was “very angry” and “deeply hurt” after suffering online abuse following a collision with a Chinese teammate during a race.
Lin Xiaojun and Liu Shaoang were leading when they collided during the ISU Short Track World Cup men’s 500m final in Beijing over the weekend. Liu and Lin finished fourth and fifth respectively as Canada’s Jordan Pierre-Gilles triumphed.
Lin, who won gold in the 1,500m at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics while competing for South Korea and is a multiple world champion, said that he was subsequently abused online.
“In the past few days I have seen that some social media accounts frequently post very unfriendly or even malicious comments,” the South Korean-born Lin, 27, wrote on social media platform Weibo.
“These comments not only hurt my teammates, coaches and other staff, but also deeply hurt me, (they are) seriously affecting our training and life.”
Lin, previously known as Lim Hyo-jun until switching to China, added: “These insults make me very angry and sad, and I strongly dislike such behaviour.”
The abusive posts appeared to have been removed on Dec 13.
Lin is just the latest athlete to be targeted online by disgruntled Chinese sports fans.
Basketball great Yao Ming said in November that criticism of the men’s team had gone too far after some players were abused following a series of disappointing results.
Basketball is hugely popular in China, but the team have consistently failed to live up to high expectations, with the latest letdown a loss to the Philippines in the semi-finals of the Asian Games on home soil.
China beat Chinese Taipei to win bronze, but the campaign was regarded as a failure and came weeks after they finished 29th of 32 teams at the World Cup, missing out on the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“No matter if we play well or badly on the basketball court, we will face up to the result,” state media quoted Yao, an eight-time National Basketball Association All-Star and now president of the Chinese Basketball Association, as saying.
“Some criticism on technique and tactics is welcome. But some things have gone beyond basketball and we don’t agree with that.”
“We will always support our players to defend their rights and interests, and in this regard (online abuse), we will provide all the necessary support.” AFP
