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
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Erling Haaland on Sunday scored twice to propel Manchester City up to second in the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries started the day in second thanks to the longest unbeaten run in the English top flight, but Andoni Iraola’s side were undone by the scintillating form of the Norwegian striker, who took his tally to 13 Premier League goals in 10 games. Haaland’s relentless streak is maintaining City’s title challenge as they reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points and edged one point ahead of Liverpool, who they face at the weekend. “Important
For almost 30 minutes, Vitomir Maricic did not take a breath. Face down in a pool, surrounded by anxious onlookers, the Croatian freediver fought spasming pain to redefine what doctors thought was possible. When he finally surfaced, he had smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the longest breath-hold underwater by nearly five minutes. However, even with the help of pure oxygen before the attempt, it had pushed him to the limit. “Everything was difficult, just overwhelming,” Maricic, 40, told reporters, reflecting on the record-breaking day on June 14. “When I dive, I completely disconnect from everything, as if I’m not even there.
RSS