Tokyo Olympics: Chinese nationalists turn on their athletes

The pressure on Chinese athletes to perform has never been higher. Anything less than a gold is being seen as athletes being unpatriotic by furious nationalists online. The BBC's Waiyee Yip reports.

China's mixed doubles table tennis team made a tearful apology at the Tokyo Olympics last week - for winning a silver medal.

"I feel like I've failed the team... I'm sorry everyone," Liu Shiwen said, bowing in apology, tears welling in her eyes.

Her partner, Xu Xin, added: "The whole country was looking forward to this final. I think the entire Chinese team cannot accept this result."

Their finals loss against Japan in a sport they usually dominate had left many online furious.

On microblogging platform Weibo, some "keyboard warriors" attacked the pair, saying they had "failed the nation".

Others made unsubstantiated claims of referee bias towards Japan's Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito.

As nationalist fever continues to sweep the country, racking up the Olympic medal tally has become much more than just sporting glory.

For the ultra-nationalist crowd, losing an Olympic medal is akin to being "unpatriotic", experts told the BBC.

"To these people, Olympic medal tables are real-time trackers of national prowess and, by extension, of national dignity," said Dr Florian Schneider, director of the Netherlands' Leiden Asia Centre.

"In that context, someone who fails at a competition against foreigners has let down or even betrayed the nation."

The table tennis match was an especially bitter pill to swallow because it had been a loss to Japan, with which China shares a tumultuous history.

Japan's occupation of Manchuria in northern China in 1931 before a wider war began six years later, killed millions of Chinese. It is still a sore point between the two nations.

To Chinese nationalists, then, the match was not just an athletic event, Dr Schneider said. "It's a stand-off between China and Japan."

Anti-Japanese sentiments on Weibo ran high throughout the match, as s called Mizutani and Ito all manners of names.

But it's not just Japan - or table tennis.

China's Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen were targeted online when they lost their bton doubles final to Taiwan.

"Are you guys not awake? You didn't put in any effort at all. What crap!" one Weibo said.

Tensions between China and Taiwan have soared in recent years.

China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province, but many Taiwanese people disagree and want a separate nation.

Other targeted athletes included sharpshooter Yang Qian - despite her taking the Tokyo Games' first gold medal.

Her downfall? An old Weibo post where she had showed off her Nike shoe collection.

People were not pleased, given how the brand is among those boycotted for its pledge to stop using Xinjiang cotton over forced labour concerns.

"As a Chinese athlete, why do you have to collect Nike shoes? Shouldn't you lead the way in boycotting Nike":[]}