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Ada Li

An official accused of verbally and physically abusing China’s triple Asian Games dragon boat gold medallist Wang Li has been dismissed, according to the provincial sports body that oversees her training.
Wang, who won three gold medals at the Hangzhou Games held in 2023, had accused her boss Fan Jiwen, the director of the Songmao Sports Training Base, of abusing her for months after she refused to hand over the prize money she received from the national team last December.
This weekend, the Yunnan Provincial Sports Bureau announced that an investigation had found Wang’s allegations “basically true”, and added that further inquiries were under way.
The 23-year-old Wang and her teammates won gold in the women’s 200m, 500m and 1,000m races at Hangzhou, making her the first Yunnan athlete to claim three Asian Games golds in the discipline.
On December 11, Wang took to the Chinese social media platform RedNote to report that after returning to the Yunnan Songmao base, Fan demanded the 150,000 yuan (US$21,500) bonus she had received from the national team.

She claimed she faced continual “verbal abuse and corporal punishment”, and that Fan told sports authorities she was “retiring due to injury”, effectively ending her career.
The provincial sports bureau launched an investigation several days later.
As the probe got under way, Wang posted another video on December 16, sharing an audio recording from August 2024 that she said revealed the kind of pressure she was facing.
In the recording, base staff told her that several senior officials, including the deputy director, were aware of the situation and intended to talk to her about retirement. They advised her to retire voluntarily, saying that if the matter escalated, “they can give you an abnormal retirement from the team because you do not follow the organisation’s arrangements”.
Wang also said police contacted her after base coaches reported her missing, asking about her whereabouts, a situation she described as distressing and disruptive.
Twenty-five days after exposing the matter, Wang resurfaced on social media last Friday, saying she was safe and staying at a friend’s home.

“I met a joint investigative team from the Yunnan sports bureau on December 25, and presented evidence,” Wang said in the latest video.
The sports bureau confirmed in a statement the following day that Wang’s reports were “basically true” and that Fan had been dismissed. It also said relevant authorities had opened a formal case against him.
Wang did not clarify whether she would continue competing or retire, but the official statement indicated she remained an athlete for now.
“The Yunnan Provincial Sports Bureau will ensure appropriate protection and support for athlete Wang in accordance with relevant athlete management policies,” the statement said.
“We have launched a special rectification campaign to strengthen discipline, improve team management and better safeguard athletes’ rights and welfare,” the bureau added.


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Asian Games 2023

Triple Asian Games gold medallist Wang Li posted on a social media platform that the director of her training base had demanded the bonus she was given. Photo: Handout

Wang and her teammates won gold in the 200m, 500m and 1,000m dragon boat races in 2023. Photo: Handout 

Wang resurfaced on social media last Friday to say she was safely staying at a friend’s place. Photo: Screenshot

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China’s Wang Li receives one of the three gold medals she won at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023. Photo: SCMP

Wang won gold in the women’s 200m, 500m and 1,000m canoe sprint races at Hangzhou in 2023. Photo: SCMP

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China’s Wang Li (centre, with short hair) receives one of the three gold medals she won at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023. Photo: SCMP

Wang Li voiced her complaints in a video on the social media platform RedNote. Photo: RedNote/王莉

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Yunnan Provincial Sports Bureau also says that further investigations into the Asian Games dragon boat champion’s allegations are under way


Yunnan Provincial Sports Bureau also says that further investigations into the Asian Games dragon boat champion’s allegations are under way.


Official accused of abusing Chinese athlete Wang Li sacked, claims found ‘basically true’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Yunnan Provincial Sports Bureau also says that further investigations into the Asian Games dragon boat champion’s allegations are under way

Yunnan Provincial Sports Bureau also says that further investigations into the Asian Games dragon boat champion’s allegations are under way