China’s federal table tennis team has made the decision to dissolve all of its athletes ‘ official social media fan pages in order to combat toxic fans, which has raised a problem that has arisen in both sports and leisure.
The Chinese Table Tennis Association ( CTTA ) and the country’s national team “unanimously decided” on the move, citing how such “fan circles” have negatively affected the sport, local news site China Sport Daily reported on Saturday ( Jan 25 ).
According to the organization, fans have” torn each other apart”, provoking confrontations and fight, engaging in taunts and slander, as well as spreading speculations and assaults.
Such violent behavior” really deviates from the initial intention of sports and has had a negative social impact,” according to CTTA.
” The web is not a violent spot”, the association more remarked. ” We must respect ( the ) coaches, athletes and referees. We shouldn’t be able to do what we want under the false pretense of “love” and” help”
Not focusing on specific cases was the declaration made by CTTA. However, it comes after some Chinese paddles voiced their disapproval of overzealous fans and as a result of some high-profile incidents at the Paris 2012 Olympics.
Wang Chuqin, a Taiwanese table tennis player, was surrounded by supporters at Beijing Capital Airport on December 28. As a local news outlet reported on January 15, China Daily was contacted. According to the report, he was clearly frustrated when devices were thrown in his mouth.
On December 15, his brother star rower and brother star kayaker Fan Zhendong posted a video on the blogging site Weibo that depicts throngs of supporters circling an elevator as they try to take photos and videos of him.  ,
” I appreciate you all for your help, but there are better methods and events to display it.” Be true to your route and honor others ‘ boundaries. I sincerely ask for fans ‘ understanding and respect”, Fan wrote.
The 28-year-old recently told state broadcaster CCTV he has been “harmed by lover society”, which even undermined the national team’s unity, the state-run Global Times reported in August last month.
When Sun Yingsha lost to her Chinese compatriot Chen Meng at the 2024 Paris Olympics, another notable incident involving misbehaving fans occurred.