Japanese badminton star Chiharu Shida on Tuesday told Chinese fans to “stop stalking” her, adding that she was “very scared” by the unwanted attention.
Shida, who won women’s doubles bronze at the Paris Olympics last year, has a strong following in China partly because of her engagement with the local culture.
The 27-year-old, currently competing at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, has been dubbed the “Badminton Goddess” by fans and media.
Photo: AFP
She hit out at some supporters on Tuesday, accusing them in an Instagram post of taking their fandom too far.
“Every time we compete in China we always experience the harm of stalkers,” Shida wrote in Chinese.
“It has already gone on for a year and a half, and recently I have felt very uncomfortable and very scared,” she said.
“From now on, please immediately stop stalking me ... but if the situation continues, I will think of a way to handle it,” she said.
Shida added that “not all fans are like this” and thanked the majority for their support.
China’s government has tried to curb extreme fandom in the past few years after sports stars and other celebrities experienced stalking and other abuse from particularly fervent followers.
Beijing’s cyberwatchdog closed nearly 4,000 online accounts and scrubbed 1.6 million posts from the country’s highly controlled Internet platforms to “create a good public opinion environment for athletes”, state broadcaster China Central Television reported this week.
In Ningbo, third seeds Shida and doubles partner Nami Matsuyama, who are ranked third in the world, yesterday beat compatriots Mizuki Otake and Miyu Takahashi to advance to the round-of-16.
In other women’s doubles matches, Taiwan’s world No. 16 Sung Shuo-yun and Yu Chien-hui beat India’s Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra 21-11, 21-13 in 35 minutes to advance to the second round.
In men’s singles, seventh seed and world No. 13 Lin Chun-yi of Taiwan beat Malaysia’s Leong Jun-hao 21-11, 21-19 to set up a match against China’s Lu Guangzu, while Chi Yu-jen of Taiwan defeated Sinapore’s Jason Teh 21-14, 21-19 to set up a round-of-16 match against fourth seed Li Shifeng of China.
In men’s doubles, Chiu Hsiang-chieh and two-time Olympic champion Wang Chi-lin overpowered India’s Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and K. Sai Partheek 21-19, 21-12 to set up a second-round match against China’s Chen Boyang and Liu Yi, while Taiwan’s Liu Kuang-heng and Yang Po-han and compatriots Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan also advanced.
In mixed doubles, Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Gonzales Chan, and compatriots Cheng Chengkuan and Hsu made it through the first round, along with Taiwan’s Lu Ming-che and Hung En-tzu.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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