Player Liu Shiwen had tears in her eyes when the mixed doubles team won the silver medal in table tennis last week. She said, 'It seems that I have let the team head down, I apologize to all.' Her partner Xu Xin said, 'The eyes of the whole country were on this match.' After that, he was seen crying. Athletes from China top the tally with 32 gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, yet players are nervous about returning to the country. The reason is the fierce pressure of the nationalists to win the gold medal.
China has sent its largest-ever contingent of 431 athletes to Tokyo. The players are expected to win gold medals in all competitions. The medal tally for the people has become more important than the achievement of the sport. Athletes are also publicly apologizing for not winning the gold medal. Experts say that for the 'extreme nationalist' Chinese, losing a medal means 'you are not a patriot'. After the loss to Japan, people in China fiercely criticized the players on social media.
Some users wrote, 'The pair of mixed doubles has brought the nation's head down. Lost the medal means betrayed the country. It is not just about this match. Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen were stunned after they lost to Taiwan in the badminton doubles final. Users wrote, 'Both were sleepy, didn't even try.' Sharpshooter Yang Qian, who won the first gold medal, was also not spared. His old post was targeted. In which she was showing shoe collection.
When Wang Luyao could not make it to the final of the 10m air rifle, commented, 'Sent you to represent or to look weak? Investigation on wearing Mao's badge: The Olympic Committee has set up an investigation on two players who won gold in track cycling. Abalone Coral and Zhong Tianshi wore the badge of Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedang as they took the medals on the podium.
Political Science Specialist at Iowa State University, Prof. Jonathan Hasid blames 'Little Pinks' for this, Little Pinks refers to the Chinese youth who aggressively write and speak militant nationalist things on social media. Hasid says that China's Communist Party is using cyber nationalism to accomplish its goals. But the latest developments show that once people get angry, it becomes difficult to control these emotions. Using nationalist sentiments is like riding a tiger, once you run you can't handle it.
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