Japanese badminton player Chiharu Shida has issued a public plea to her Chinese fans, asking them to respect her privacy and stop stalking her.
The 27-year-old has developed a large following in China, where she is often referred to online as the “Badminton Goddess”.
Her comments prompted a rare statement from the Chinese Olympic Committee condemning what it described as “obsessive fan culture”, warning that such behaviour was not only disruptive to competitions but also harmful to public order and sporting ethics.
It comes after British tennis star Emma Raducanu was left in tears by a “fixated” fan at a tournament in Dubai.
Shida is currently competing at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, eastern China.
In an Instagram post, Shida complained of harassment taking place for more than a year, including behaviour she says has left her “very uncomfortable and very scared”.
“Thank you to everyone for your continued support, but I would like to request something from all my fans,” she wrote in Chinese.
“We have been stalked every time we compete in China, it has already been going on for a year and a half. Recently, we’ve been feeling very uncomfortable and very scared.”
The athlete, who won a bronze medal in women’s doubles at the 2024 Paris Olympics alongside partner Nami Matsuyama, did not specify who she meant by “we”. The pair are currently ranked third in the world.
“I know it’s not all fans that are like this, and I really like China and I’m thankful for all the support from fans. Starting now, please immediately stop the stalking and similar behaviour,” she added.
“If this type of situation continues, I will have to think of a way to handle it. Finally, please focus on us in the stadium, not on our private lives. Thanks again.”
It is not the first time Shida has raised concerns about harassment. In November 2023, she revealed she had been “stalked and intimately touched” by fans during the China Masters tournament in Shenzhen, the South China Morning Post reported.
The Chinese Olympic Committee said of Shida’s comments: “This kind of ‘low-level fan’ seems to act out of love for their idol ... but they make irrational actions that endanger the normal order of the competition, public order and good customs, and endanger the spirit of sports and social morality.”
It follows two separate incidents involving Chinese fans: one in which judges were verbally abused at a national diving competition after Olympian Quan Hongchan failed to win gold, and another involving Olympic table tennis star Fan Zhendong.
Fan, a three-time Olympic champion, was stalked by a woman who reportedly entered his hotel room using a stolen key card. In December, he also had to appeal to fans for privacy after being swarmed in a hotel lobby and in 2021 he reprimanded fans after they swamped an airport to try and get a glimpse of him.
China's internet regulators have intensified efforts to curb toxic fan behaviour in sports, removing over 1.6 million illegal posts and shutting down nearly 4,000 online accounts, the Cyberspace Administration of China announced last week, China Daily reported.
The crackdown targets online harassment, doxxing and profiteering under the guise of fandom. In total, 76,000 accounts were penalised, with 3,767 permanently shut down.
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