Chinese netizens criticized the men's sprinter Cha Min-gyu, who won a silver medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics following the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, for using his hands on the podium before getting on the podium.
On the afternoon of the 12th, when his name was called at the men's 500m speed skating medal ceremony held at the National Speed Skating Stadium in Beijing, China, Cha Min-gyu acted as if he was writing on the podium and climbed onto the podium.
He then flashed his right hand over his head to greet the crowd.
Mingyu Cha's actions were similar to those of Canadian athletes who won a bronze medal in the men's 5,000m relay at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics four years ago before they took to the podium.
At the time, it was speculated that Canadian athletes acted like that in protest of the judgment of their fellow athletes who competed in other sports.
Chinese netizens protested, saying that Cha Min-gyu acted reminiscent of the protests of Canadian players.
Chinese netizens criticized Weibo, saying, "Don't blame the referee, blame your skills" or "Why can't Koreans admit defeat?" Other netizens said, "I think it's curling. If you wipe it quickly, it slips." I even ridiculed it.
Some netizens criticized the controversy over hanbok during the Olympics and last year's kimchi and pao chai, saying, "Koreans try to steal anything from others."
Cha Min-gyu's award ceremony ceremony drew a lot of attention, with the number of views approaching 200 million as he ranked number one on Weibo the day before.
Some Chinese internet media, such as Wang Yimang, also reported the news and responded, "Does Cha Min-gyu's actions admit that there was a problem with the Pyeongchang Olympics?"
It is yet to be confirmed what kind of meaning Cha Min-kyu took with the use of the podium.
As there was a public opinion that Korean athletes lost one after another due to an ambiguous decision in the men's short track 1,000m at the Beijing Olympics, and suffered a loss in the 'territoriality judgment', there is a possibility that it was a protest against the judgment of colleagues, but I do not have an explanation for it, so I am guessing at the moment appears to be the area of
Public opinion in Korea and China has been deeply emotional during the Olympic Games, starting with the controversy over the hanbok at the opening ceremony and the controversy over bias in the men's 1,000m short track race.
In a situation where the exact intentions of Cha Min-gyu's ceremony were not confirmed, criticism of the Chinese netizens' speculation quickly spread.
Major media, including Chinese state-run media, did not report on the controversy over Cha Min-gyu's awards ceremony, except for the results of the Chinese game, as if conscious of the overheated anti-China and anti-Korea sentiment in both countries.
(Photo=Capture Wang Yimang, Yonhap News)