Winning an Olympic medal, leave alone the “Coveted Gold medal,” is a dream come true for any sportsperson. However, the Chinese have much higher expectations from their athletes. The Chinese Table Tennis and Badminton players who won silver medals at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics 2021 became a target of Chinese netizens on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Facebook.
The Chinese mixed doubles team comprising Xu Xin and Lu Shiven lost the mixed double Table Tennis event that the Chinese have dominated for decades. To make the matter worse, they have lost the match to the arch-rivals, their nemesis, the Japanese. The picture below speaks a thousand words. The tears rolling down their eyes show their remorse and guilt at losing the final to Japan.
“The whole country was looking forward to this final. I think the entire Chinese team cannot accept this result” said Xu Xin, pictured left. His tearful partner, Lu Shiven was looking for words but the tears rolling down her eyes made words unnecessary. This was not the only heart-breaking loss for the Chinese at Tokyo Olympics 2021.
The Chinese also made uncharitable and unsubstantiated allegations towards the host Japanese for being biased. The Olympic events happen under the watchful eyes of international teams and a global audience. The Chinese took to Weibo and flooded it messages targeting the silver medallists for lack of “patriotism”.
This was not the only gold medal that the Chinese lost to their arch-rivals at Tokyo Olympics 2021. In Badminton, another sport where the Chinese are a force to reckon with, Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen lost to the Taiwanese. Taiwan is the perennial target of Chinese hate. The Chinese do not allow them to even compete as Taiwan. They are forced to compete as Chinese Taipei.
The men’s mixed double silver medallists were lambasted with disparaging remarks like,” Were you guys not wake?” and “Why you didn’t make any efforts?” Other comments are much less civil to be mentioned here.
China’s troubled history with Japan and Taiwan makes these losses unbearable. Japanese forces handed a humiliating defeat to the Chinese in the 1930s. Millions of Chinese were killed mercilessly by the invading Japanese forces. Chinese culture of “perfection” and “Nothing but Gold” attitude have severe consequences for its athletes. The pressure to perform is tremendous. It is quadrupled when facing Japan, the USA or Taiwan.
The Chinese fail to understand that Olympics events are beyond the sphere of Chinese influence. Making such hue and cry will only denigrate their already battered image. However, it would be naïve to think that story will be any different at the next Olympics. To make the matter worse, the Chinese slipped to second place in the medals tally on the last day, losing the top spot to the USA. Tokyo Olympics 2021 have left bitter memories for the Chinese. They shall learn to value and respect their athletes instead of issuing patriotism certificates.
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