For Chinese fans, athletes shine brighter than medals

Winning medals or not, Chinese athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympics have received the highest respect and unconditional support from domestic fans on social media.

As an example, Chinese star rider Alex Hua Tian finished 25th on board Don Geniro failing to win a medal at the individual equestrian eventing competition at the Games.

Hua still received countless messages of encouragement and support from fans on his personal Sina Weibo account, which has over 7 million followers. His latest post, which contains nine photos of him at airport leaving Japan, earned over 30,000 likes.

However, a recent BBC report claimed that for Chinese fans, "anything less than a gold medal is being seen as athletes being unpatriotic". Hua personally respond to the "unbalanced reporting".

"As a Chinese athlete just returned from Tokyo, I find this coverage grossly out of proportion. I did not win a medal and have had nothing but support from Chinese fans on social media," Hua said on Facebook.

"Every nation represented at the Olympics has fans whose support goes too far or have unmanageable expectations. This doesn't excuse their behaviors but it also doesn't excuse unbalanced reporting.

"BBC readers, please take this report with a pinch of salt."

According to data from Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo, a total of 344 members of the Chinese delegation in Tokyo Games have personal account on the platform, and 43 million new fans have followed them since the start of the Games. And 27 of them now have over a million followers.

As another example, Chinese taekwondo star Zhao Shuai, one of China's flag-bearers at the opening ceremony of the Olympics, failed to defend his title and claimed a bronze medal in Tokyo last month.

The hashtags "Zhao Shuai failed to reach final" and "Zhao Shuai won bronze" both became trending topics on social media platform Weibo the day he missed the gold, with many fans keen to stress that he should be proud of his efforts.

"Zhao Shuai is the most iconic Chinese taekwondo athlete, and Zhao's goal has always been to stand on the highest podium," read a China Sports Daily commentary.

"Even though Zhao failed to earn his second Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, what he stands for has not changed, and he continues to be an inspiration."