By February 13, 2022, several South Koreans said that the behavior on the podium of Korean representative Cha Min-Kyu (28), who won the silver medal at 500 meters for speed skating men, is controversial in China. The media reported.
Stroking the stage several times with your right hand
Cha participated in the men’s speed skating 500 meters on February 12, marking 34.39 seconds and winning the silver medal for the second consecutive tournament.
Controversial is the behavior of Cha at the medal award ceremony held after the match. Cha approached the podium when his name was announced, bent over and patted the podium several times with his right hand. Then he raised his face and turned to the front of him, pushing up his right arm.
The behavior at Cha’s awards ceremony was spread on SNS and spread on the Internet in China.
According to several Korean media, Chinese SNS has raised speculation that Cha may have protested the referee’s decision because Korean players were disqualified one after another on the short track, and criticism was raised against Cha. It is said that it is.
Korean media “Sports Seoul” (Japanese WEB version) introduced an article on the Chinese portal site “Baidu” that mentions the behavior of Cha.
China Net “Are you wiping your gravestone?”
According to the article “Baidu”, sports creators commented that the same act was done at the medal award ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Men’s Short Track 5000m Relay.
It is said that the Canadian players who won the bronze medal in the same event swept the podium before going up to the podium. According to sports creators, Canadian athletes are presumed to have protested the decisions received by their own athletes in other disciplines.
In light of these past cases, the article argues that Cha is likely to be punished for violating the latest provisions of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and, in the worst case, could be deprived of medals. I told him.
The Chosun Ilbo, a major Korean media, reported that Cha was overly criticized on the Internet in China, and posted Cha’s comment that “it was an action with a sense of respect.”
On the other hand, in the article, the content written on the Internet in China is posted. In addition to criticisms such as “Why Koreans cannot be defeated”, there are also comments that ridicule Cha, such as “Why are you curling now?” It was sent.
Korean media is “outrageous coverage”
In addition, the Chosun Ilbo dismissed the possibility of Cha’s medal deprivation reported by the Chinese portal site Baidu as “outrageous news.”
South Korea has been dissatisfied with the referee’s decision in speed skating this year.
In the short track men’s 1000m semi-final held on the 7th, Korea Rep. National team Hwang Dae-heon and Lee June-seo scored 1st and 2nd respectively in different groups, but they were disqualified after the race. As a result, two Chinese players moved up to the final.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, which doubles as the Korean Olympic Committee, sent a letter of protest to the International Skating Union (ISU) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after the match. The following day, on the 8th, an emergency press conference was held at the Beijing Olympics Main Media Center, and he strongly protested that the decision was in favor of local China.