China arrests woman for 'slanderous' comments made about Olympic athletes after divisive table tennis final
Chen Meng won gold against Sun Yingsha
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Police in Beijing have announced they arrested a woman for posting defamatory comments online following a divisive table tennis final between two Chinese athletes.
The 29-year-old woman, who's surname is He, is said to have '"maliciously fabricated information and openly slandered others'.
Public Security Bureau of Beijing's Daxing released the statement on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
The statement didn't name the athletes or coaches that were targeted, but police confirmed it came after the women's table tennis final last Sunday.
The match was an all-Chinese affair between Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha in a toxic atmosphere inside the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.
Chen Meng won gold against Sun Yingsha
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According to Chinese media, Sun is seen as a 'national hero' while Chen doesn't have anywhere near the same support despite winning two golds in Tokyo three years ago.
It was a repeat of the women's singles table tennis final in Tokyo when Chen defeated Sun.
The arena was packed with Chinese fans, but there were boos for Chen and even subject to abuse online.
Chen went on to win the match 4-2 for her third Olympic gold medal with Weibo later announcing they had banned more than 300 accounts.
“During the game, the irrational viewing behaviour of some viewers caused controversy online,” Weibo said in an official announcement on the platform.
“Some users took advantage of this to spread malicious speculation, incite conflict and even published irrational remarks attacking athletes and coaching staff members.”
The social media platform supposedly even named some of the accounts that were banned for posting 'illegal content'.
According to Freeweibo, a website that monitors comments removed by the platform, several posts targeted Chen.
One message read: "The whole country was hoping for Sun Yingsha to win the women's singles gold, where's your sense of justice?"
Chen Meng was loudly booed in the arena
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But there was an abundance of support for Chen with many left confused at the lack of support she received in the arena.
Chen was roundly booed by the crowd when she stepped onto the podium to collect her gold medal.
“It’s really ridiculous,” one Weibo message read. “In previous competitions when Chinese players compete each other in the final, the entire crowd would cheer together for team China – what a magnificent spectacle!
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Sun Yingsha was the crowd favourite
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“But today, you can hardly hear a single unified cheer for the China team.”
Another posted: “It’s great no matter who wins. It’s just that the scene was so off-putting that it created a contrary mindset, and I started to hope that Chen would win instead.”
A third said: “The audience and [Chinese] commentators clearly favoured Sun, and while it’s not wrong to support your favourite athlete at the venue, it’s outrageous to boo Chen, who is on the same Chinese team.”