Chen Yuxi competes at the National Diving Championships. Photo: Xinhua News Agency

Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, said on Wednesday it has removed abusive and insulting comments targeting Olympic champion Chen Yuxi on its platform.

The response came after a Sina Weibo user posted that Chen had been harassed on Douyin following her victory with teammate Zhang Minjie in the women's synchronized 10-meter platform event at the National Diving Championships on Monday. The harassment included screenshots of abusive remarks, such as claims that Chinese diving sensation Quan Hongchan should be considered the "world's No.1," along with personal insults and offensive memes.

The platform said it has "comprehensively removed attacks, insults, extreme and unfriendly remarks targeting the athlete."

Douyin continues to carry out targeted governance of unhealthy sports fandom culture and will firmly crack down on cyberbullying, defamation, incitement of rivalry, and irrational idol worship in the sports sector, the company said in a statement on its official "Blackboard Report" account. "We urge all users to express their support rationally and resist online hostility."

Chinese star divers Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan are celebrated athletes and frequent partners. At times, they have also been fierce competitors, each backed by passionate fan bases. For example, the duo claimed gold together in the women's synchronized 10-meter platform at the Paris Olympics. However, in the individual 10-meter platform event, Quan edged out Chen to take the gold. 

The controversy this time followed Quan's withdrawal from the competition due to injury, which led to Chen being paired with a new partner, Zhang, for the synchronized event.

The new pair scored 350.16 points, earning Chen her second gold of the National Diving Championships. The day prior, Chen also took gold in the individual 10-meter platform event.

Global Times