Japan badminton ace Chiharu Shida blasts ‘stalker’ Chinese fans

BEIJING – Japanese badminton star Chiharu Shida has told Chinese fans to “stop stalking” her and said she was “very scared” by the unwanted attention.

Shida, who won women’s doubles bronze at the Paris Olympics, has a strong following in China, partly because of her engagement with the local culture.

The 27-year-old, currently competing at the Asia championships in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo, has been dubbed “Badminton Goddess” by fans and media.

She hit out at some supporters on April 8, accusing them in an Instagram post of taking their fandom too far.

“Every time we compete in China, we always experience the harm of stalkers,” Shida wrote in Chinese.

“It has already gone on for a year and a half, and recently I have felt very uncomfortable and very scared,” she said.

“From now on, please immediately stop stalking me... but if the situation continues, I will think of a way to handle it.”

Shida added that “not all fans are like this” and thanked the majority for their support.

She and doubles partner Nami Matsuyama are ranked third in the world and beat compatriots Mizuki Otake and Miyu Takahashi in Ningbo on April 9.

This is not the first time the Japanese has made her feelings known.

In November 2023, Shida claimed she was “stalked and intimately touched” by supporters while competing in Shenzhen at the China Masters. She pleaded via social media that they “keep their distance... and respect both parties”.

China’s government has tried to curb extreme fandom in recent years, after sports stars and other celebrities experienced stalking and other abuse from particularly fervent followers.

Beijing’s cyber watchdog recently closed nearly 4,000 online accounts and scrubbed 1.6 million posts from the country’s highly controlled internet platforms to “create a good public opinion environment for athletes”, state broadcaster CCTV reported this week.

Such terror was not just limited to badminton, with tennis star Emma Raducanu revealing in March that she

“couldn’t see the ball through the tears”

after being targeted by a stalker during the Dubai WTA 1000 tournament in February.

She was left distraught after a man, later said to be displaying “fixated behaviour”, appeared at a courtside seat during her defeat by Karolina Muchova. The man was escorted away by security,

given a restraining order

and banned from attending WTA Tour events.

“I saw him first game of the match, and I was like: ‘I don’t know how I’m going to finish’,” she recounted.

“I literally couldn’t see the ball through the tears, I could barely breathe. I was playing Karolina, who’s like top 17 in the world or something, and I can’t see the ball.”

The first four games of the match “kind of ran away from me because I was not on the court, to be honest. I’m not really sure how I regrouped”, she said.

Women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek was also verbally abused by a fan at the Miami Open in March. AFP