Sports delegates raise concerns about fandom culture

Fanatic, disrespectful and sometimes toxic — the overzealous fan support of celebrity athletes has raised concerns across China's sports community, with the country's policy advisers and legislators lobbying against such blind idolization.

With the frenzy of her fan following apparently having gone too far, China's diving phenom Quan Hongchan even needed an anti-drone system deployed near her home in Maihe village in Zhanjiang, a coastal city in Guangdong province, to avoid invasions of her privacy by some extreme die-hard fans mobbing the neighborhood during Spring Festival this year.

The protective measure, prepared and confirmed by village officials before Quan's return for the holiday, has exposed the severity of irrational adulation and worship toward China's sports stars, known as the "fandom" culture, which has turned heads at the ongoing two sessions.

Yang Yang, China's first Winter Olympic champion, Zhang Yufei, a world-class swimmer, and Liu Guoliang, president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, are among the high-profile sports representatives attending the two sessions — the annual meetings of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee — who have voiced their support on curbing the trend.

"I think there should be a fine line between supporting athletes in a passionate way and idolizing them blindly at the cost of rules and respect," said Yang, a gold-winning short-track speed skater at the 2002 Winter Olympics and a member of the sports panel of the CPPCC National Committee, China's top political advisory body. "Such behavior (by overzealous fans) will eventually hurt the athletes they support themselves, leaving a negative influence on the mental and physical well-being of their beloved athletes."

Yang, who is also the current vice-president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, added, "I hope we can all promote the true passion for sports and appreciation for athletic achievements in a fair way among fans."

As arguably China's most-followed swimmer, Zhang, a two-time gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has urged fans to pay more attention to the essence of sports rather than the personal lives of athletes and the rumors about them.

"We all appreciate the fans' support very much. Yet, I wish that the focus would be placed on the athletic achievements we made in a respectful manner," Zhang, an NPC deputy, said on Tuesday before reporting to the annual meeting of the top legislature.

The invasion of fandom culture — which once only targeted pop singers and movie stars — into China's sports community has seen reckless fans obsessing over athletes' personal lives, cyber-bullying their idols' opponents and interfering in competition operations and match officiating.

In the latest episode of overzealous fandom, an all-Chinese women's singles final between favorite Sun Yingsha and her teammate Wang Manyu at the Asian Cup table tennis tournament on Sunday resulted in Sun's legion of fans booing and cursing Wang loudly after she beat the top-ranked Sun 4-0 at the Universiade Center in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

"I thank them for their vocal support, and I hope they take care of their throats," a poker-faced Wang said during her victory speech, amid boisterous chants of "We only love Sun Yingsha!" echoing at the sold-out arena.

The overenthusiastic support for Sun, who has over 10 million followers on micro-blogging platform Weibo, also turned her teammate and Paris Olympics gold medalist Chen Meng into a victim of online abuse, after Chen outplayed Sun 4-2 in the singles final last summer to defend her Olympic crown.

The growing influence of fandom culture has since emerged as a pressing issue to tackle by China's sports authorities, with the General Administration of Sport of China and multiple governing bodies, including the CTTA, having proposed a series of measures and regulations to safeguard athletes' rights and educate fans on giving fair and responsible support for their heroes.

Citing the undesirable behavior of some supporters, such as smearing opponents and leaking their personal itineraries, an increasing group of high-profile athletes — including men's Olympic champion swimmer Pan Zhanle, table tennis sensation Wang Chuqin and tennis superstar Zheng Qinwen — have disbanded their official fan groups on Chinese social media in recent months.

"I think it's a critical process for a sporting event's promotion that we need to better educate fans and persuade them to enjoy the event and support their beloved athletes in a responsible and civilized way," said Liu, CTTA president and a CPPCC National Committee member.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn