The swimming miracle in China attracts global praise and note of caution

Hong Kong-She has become a 12-year-old Chinese swimmer with a global sense of history making, even at a time when observers and fans in the country return to overcome the young player.

On Thursday, Yu Zaidi became the smallest medal ever in the World Water Games Championship, which is held in Singapore this year.

Yu was part of the Chinese team that won the bronze in the 4 x 200 -meter free relay race for women, as the United States won gold and gold in Australia. Although she did not compete in the final, she got a medal because she swam in the qualified race.

“I was very excited to join the relay. I felt comfortable,” Yu told reporters on Thursday. “The world championship is fun, and I hope to swim faster.”

The Chinese miracle began to swim at the age of six only to overcome heat in Hebe Province. She said she had never thought of becoming a professional athlete until a coach in a swimming pool approached her.

“At that time, I thought: Why don’t you try training?” Yu Xinhua told the state -run Chinese news agency in May.

Yu, who is also the smallest person in a medal in a major international competition since 1936, can earn an individual medal on Sunday at 400 meters for women. Her time is so fast that she allowed her to compete in the World Water Games championship, although the minimum life condition is usually 14.

I was already approaching the medal in two other events in Singapore, and the platform was lost 0.06 seconds in the 200 -meter race for women on Monday and 0.31 seconds in the 200 -meter butterfly for women on Thursday.

In the Chinese National Championship in May, Yu Medley ended the 200 -meter with a time of 2: 10.63, and won a silver medal and set a record in the event for any 12 -year -old or female.

She was welcomed as the greatest swimmer in the world in her life, and she was compared to phenomena such as Katie Lediki from the United States and McCainch Summer in Canada, with times that she would put on the verge of the medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Indeed, Yu is swimming in a 400 -meter -long race about 15 seconds of Mcintosh at the same age.

Her amazing performance before a teenager has a lot wondering how competitive swimming can be in the coming years.

But some Chinese sports fans and commentators urged the fans not to overcome the rising star in two Britain.

Shanghai Observer said in a stretcher on Thursday that Yu’s sudden reputation may expose her to “unpopular” pressure that could prevent her from achieving her full potential.

“We must let this 12 -year -old grow slowly in a wave,” adding that “there is no need to rush to worship the hero.”

The warning alluded to a shift in how China promotes elite athletes in the aftermath of steadfastness Doping allegations and what has been criticized as a “toxic” culture.

Success in the highest levels of sport was essential in building the national identity of China, as the government focused on the dominant medal tables in the Olympic Games and other events.

But the pressure on the gold medals puts a lot of tension on the athletes of stars in the countries, as well as the severity of the general scrutiny.

Zhang Ben, a veteran sports commentator in China, said that the Fandom sport appeared for the first time in 2016 when Chinese social media users, who were exposed to sexual scandals that have distorted the healthy image of pop stars they had previously loved to follow the Olympic athletes instead.

Zhang said that the new fans brought “advanced strategies” of the entertainment industry, which led to “Vannum’s wars” between the various groups that tried to outperform each other in supporting athletes.

The culture of sports fans in China, which could include mobs, fans, electronic bullying of athletes and the behavior of overcoming sporting events, was especially visible around the Paris Olympics last year.

When the Gold Prize -winning laws in her hometown, visitors flocked to her home for several days. Some of them were broadcast to broadcast with their phones while others flew drones, and travel agencies began to offer tours in their village.

It was mentioned that Chanli, an Olympic champion swimmer, was mentioned to be solved by the official fans group after his success in the Paris games that he overwhelmed with an increase of new followers.

The Chinese government was starting, as the Electronic Space Control Authority said in April that it had closed more than 3,700 social media accounts with illegal or incompatible content aimed at Chinese athletes.

But sometimes the frenzy over the Internet exceeds. The Chinese Table Tennis player, Zhendong, an Olympic gold medal, said he was shocked when a stranger infiltrated his room in the hotel in 2023.

He told Phoenix TV last week: “I never thought, as an athlete, I must face something like this,” adding that organized online abuse has caused “severe” mental pressure that contributed to many unexpected losses.

Zhang, who was in the World Water Games Championship in Singapore, said, as sports cobes are attracting followers, as the collections of fans may be a source of anxiety on Yu in the future.

China is often excessive in the field of athletes, but it “may not be a good thing if Yu lives in isolation like a protected giant panda.”

“For athletes, learning to interact with the media is a necessary part of their development,” Zhang added.

Jesse Zhu, 23, a graduate student at Hong Kong, who is closely following the fans of the table tennis star, said it is a “good invitation” for the Chinese media to cover U -in “restricted tone” while Vandom is still very unlawful.

“Let the child still focus on training,” said Zhu.