Zhu Yi, the Chinese-American figure skater’s performance in the Beijing Olympics has caused controversy in the country. The athlete skating for China has taken the Chinese social media by storm after she falls twice in the games. Chinese slammed and criticized the athlete for the same.

Zhu Yi’s Olympic Debut

The 19-year-old figure skater made her debut in the Winter Olympics this year. Sources revealed that on February 6, 2022, she fell flat on the ice within 20 seconds following failed jump in the opening combination. Moreover, she missed another jump on the very same day. This happened on the very second day of the team event.

The Beijing Capital Indoor Stadium’s mostly Chinese crowd erupted in cheers when Zhu took the ice for the first time on the second day of figure skating team competitions. During the opening combination, she tumbled and crashed into the wall, and missed another jump later in the performance, leaving her with the lowest score of the competition.

As a result, China dropped from third to fifth in the standings. The result was just enough for China to qualify for the next round. Zhu Yi was in tears as the incident made her upset and embarrassed her in front of the crowd. She said that since the selection for ladies’ singles took everyone by surprise in China, she felt a lot of pressure. She wanted to show them that she could do it. Unfortunately, she didn’t succeed in the same.

Zhu Yi appeared on the ice again for her second routine of the team event on Monday. She, however, was visibly distraught after two falls, leaving the rink in tears. She broke down in tears after thanking the fans in attendance, holding up her hands before her face. Zhu’s resilience was praised after her performance was clearly affected by criticism from Chinese fans.

Zhu Yi Faces Tremendous Backlash On Chinese Social Media

the Chinese government has long looked to medal counts as a measure of national strength. Consequently, it is incumbent upon Chinese athletes to perform well at the Olympics. In recent years, China has recruited a number of foreign-born athletes, hoping to increase its medal count at the Winter Olympics. Zhu Yi is one of those athletes.

Zhu, born to a Chinese immigrant family in Los Angeles, gave up her American citizenship in order to compete for China in 2018. She even ch anged her name from Beverly Zhu to Zhu Yi. Moreover, she has faced criticism for not being able to speak Chinese fluently. A Weibo user taunted her to learn Chinese fluently before she talks about patriotism.

The selection of Zhu, an American-born skater, as China’s representative was questioned by many. The hashtags “Zhu Yi has fallen”, “Zhu Yi fell over” and “Zhu Yi messed up” went viral on social media sites. One of the users even called her a disgrace, which had 11000 upvotes. However, the hashtags were censored by Sunday evening. The hashtag ‘Zhu Yi has fallen’ had received over 200 million views on Weibo.

The attack on her also illustrates the pressure naturalized Chinese athletes face when competing under China’s flag.

Eileen Gu – Stark Contrast

In stark contrast to Zhu’s attack, another athlete born in California and competing for China is Eileen Gu, a freestyle skiing prodigy. Her Olympic debut is scheduled on Monday in the women’s freeski big air qualifications. Having grown up spending summer holidays in Beijing, she is fluent in Mandarin and familiar with Chinese culture.

With more than 300 million views on Weibo, Eileen is trending with the hashtag ‘Eileen Gu’s first show’ on Sunday night. Chinese state media has heavily featured her in their coverage of the Winter Olympics and in advertisements for Chinese brands.

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