BEIJING (Reuters) – Police in Beijing have arrested a woman suspected of posting defamatory comments on social media about Chinese athletes and coaches after the women’s singles table tennis final at the Paris Olympics, police said.
The suspect, a 29-year-old surnamed He, “willfully fabricated information and blatantly slandered others, resulting in a negative impact on society,” police in Daxing District said in a statement late Tuesday.
The case is being investigated, police said, although specific details about the defamatory comments were not disclosed.
In the August 3 match, China’s defending champion Chen Meng defeated teammate Sun Yingshaalso the world number 1, 4-2, in a replay of their previous meeting in Tokyo three years ago.
Throughout the match, there were cheers for Sun and boos directed at Chen when she scored, according to a broadcast of the event.
After the match, many took to social media to criticize the crowd’s behavior.
“If this kind of fan culture is allowed to permeate sports, it could ultimately undermine even the most talented athletes, like Sun Yingsha,” said one user on Weibo.
Weibo, China’s popular X-like microblogging site, said it had deleted over 12,000 posts and banned more than 300 accounts for what it called “illegal” comments.
Many people also took to social media to express their joy and national pride after Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle broke her own world record in the 100m freestyle, even as China was thrown back into the doping spotlight after media reported that two 2022 swimmers had tested positive for a banned steroid.
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Miral Fahmy)