Sports delegates raise concerns about fandom culture

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.