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Stephy Zhang

Chinese gymnasts were the latest athletes in the firing line of disgruntled fan groups after the Gymnastics Administrative Centre announced the team for next month’s Asian Games.
What started as a routine announcement of the gymnastics team for the coming Games in Japan spiralled into an online campaign of harassment and conspiracy theories, forcing sports officials to threaten legal action against fans.
The episode underscores China’s ongoing struggle to manage an increasingly aggressive, internet-savvy sports fandom that frequently challenges official authority.
The controversy erupted on Friday, when the Centre published its selection list, which fans immediately attacked over transparency and choice of gymnasts.
The main area of discontent centred on the men’s artistic team, with online critics accusing officials of applying internal trial rules inconsistently to favour certain athletes, while failing to honour a stated commitment to focus on developing younger talent.
Fans pointed to official selection guidelines and a previous interview with deputy team leader Lu Bin, who stated that “the overall principle for the men’s team at the Asian Games is primarily to train young newcomers”.

However, the starting squad – Zou Jingyuan, Zhang Boheng, Lan Xingyu, Sun Wei and Tian Hao – were born between 1995 and 2001, while younger athletes born between 2004 and 2007 were relegated to the alternate list.
“What happened to training newcomers?” numerous fans asked online, tagging Lu’s account to demand an explanation.
“An inexperienced youngster’s big-match experience won’t just appear out of thin air,” one netizen wrote.
Fans also argued that relying heavily on specialists – such as Zou and Lan – left all-rounders overstretched across six apparatuses, claiming selectors were “gifting team gold to Japan”.
“We’ve abandoned the team gold again, there are traitors in the gymnastics team,” one user posted, who also used derogatory language to imply collusion with foreign rivals.
Another commented: “Yes, our gymnastics team’s selections are non-public and opaque; the top scorer in internal trials is denied major competitions, those who skip trials can still make the team, and poor trial performers get second chances...”
One of the gymnasts, Zou, faced personal attacks from fans who called him “washed up” and an “old uncle”, urging him to “retire early if you’re not motivated to train and leave room for newcomers”.
Responding to the barrage of online vitriol to the team selection on Tuesday, the Centre issued a hardline statement condemning “fan-circle” behaviour that disrupted team training.
The Centre also insisted that the selections strictly adhered to rules and “upheld the principles of fairness, justice, and openness”.
“Some self-media accounts and netizens ignored facts, concocted rumours in a ‘fan circle’ manner ... and posted inappropriate comments through malicious attacks,” the statement said.
Officials confirmed they were “gathering and fixing evidence of infringement according to law” to pursue criminal and civil liabilities alongside cyberspace and public security authorities.
The crackdown follows an established pattern of state intervention against fans who overstep the mark.
Earlier this year, public security authorities issued 10-day administrative detentions to netizens for cyberbullying diver Quan Hongchan over her weight, while the national swimming team also filed police reports to suppress online harassment.
In another case highlighted by the Ministry of Public Security as a typical violation by fans, an 18-year-old woman was administratively penalised for publicly defaming a gymnast on social media.
Yet, questions remain over whether legal punishments such as administrative detentions alone can stop fans attacking athletes online in China.
Critics argued that the lack of official transparency in how athletes were selected to represent the country creates a vacuum for rumours to flourish, and the criteria should be made public.

“So why not make internal trials public? Why do some athletes get two attempts?” one fan commented.
Another added: “I support selection based on athletic capability, but please publish your benchmarks instead of labelling the public’s basic demands as ‘fan-circle’ behaviour.”
The fierce public scrutiny stems in part from high expectations surrounding China’s flagship gymnastics programme.
A historic powerhouse with over 150 gold medals across the Olympics, World Championships and World Cups, the national team has long been a major Olympic medal producer.
The men’s squad won Olympic team titles in Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008 and London 2012, and successfully defended their Asian Games title in Hangzhou in 2023.
Despite a last-rotation error on the horizontal bar leaving them with silver behind Japan at the Paris 2024 Olympics, China remains a dominant force.
In June 2026, Zhang led the men’s team to a comeback victory over Japan at the Asian Gymnastics Championships in Zunyi, to win team gold alongside his individual all-around title.
Having defeated their primary rival in Zunyi, China head to the Games as a strong contender.


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China

One of the gymnasts, Zou Jingyuan, faced personal attacks from netizens who called him ‘washed up’, an ‘old uncle’ and urged him to retire


One of the gymnasts, Zou Jingyuan, faced personal attacks from netizens who called him ‘washed up’, an ‘old uncle’ and urged him to retire.


‘Traitors in the gymnastics team’: Chinese fans hit out at squad selection for Asian Games

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}One of the gymnasts, Zou Jingyuan, faced personal attacks from netizens who called him ‘washed up’, an ‘old uncle’ and urged him to retire

One of the gymnasts, Zou Jingyuan, faced personal attacks from netizens who called him ‘washed up’, an ‘old uncle’ and urged him to retire