Chinese Table Tennis Association Goes After Online Bullies Following Paris Olympics Controversy

The Chinese Table Tennis Association issued a statement addressing the recent issue of rival players being criticized by fans at the Paris Olympics.

In the women’s singles final, Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Chen Meng defeated world number one Sun Yingsha 4-2, securing her second consecutive championship. However, Sun’s fans stirred controversy with their disrespectful behavior towards Chen.

On the Chinese social media platform Weibo, dissatisfied fans commented, “You shattered the dreams of the entire nation.” This led to multiple accounts being suspended by Weibo administrators, and some users were arrested for defamation.

Fanatic fan groups have recently emerged as a significant social issue within Chinese sports.

Consequently, on Saturday, the Chinese Table Tennis Association announced that public security agencies are cooperating with departments to crack down on online bullying by sports fans. The association supported this initiative and emphasized its strong opposition to online bullying.

They also warned that fan groups’ chaos seriously disrupts the Chinese table tennis team’s training and competitions and adversely affects the daily lives of players, coaches, and their families.

The association plans to collect evidence of verbal abuse, slander, defamation, and other malicious attacks on the Chinese table tennis team. They will hold the responsible organizations and individuals accountable under the law.

It appears they are taking serious action against these issues.