Medalist slammed over outfit

Uniform symbolizes country’s reputation, image: ANTA

A Chinese gold medalist sparked controversy by wearing a uniform of a sponsor he endorses at the award ceremony instead of the official uniform of the Chinese national team at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Known as the Chinese Michael Phelps, Sun won the men’s 200-meter freestyle event on Sunday at the 2018 Asian Games. Sun wore a 361° sports outfit, a Chinese brand he endorses, during the medal awarding ceremony.

His behavior irritated China’s national team sponsor ANTA Sports Products Limited based in East China’s Fujian Province.

ANTA is the official partner of the Chinese sports delegation to the 18th Asian Games and Chinese Olympic Committee.

“Athletes must be dressed in official sportswear based on the contract and to build the national image,” according to a statement sent by ANTA to the Global Times on Tuesday.

The Chinese delegation “has not responded to the issue,” Gu Meng, a company public relations staff member told the Global Times on Tuesday.

“The podium outfit represents not only athletes, but the reputation, image and credibility of a country…it has never happened in sports history when athletes from a country wore a different outfit for a medal ceremony,” the ANTA statement said.

Sun Yang’s agent declined to comment on the incident when reached by the Global Times on Tuesday. “We need to focus on the games first,” she said.

Ji Xinjie, another national team swimmer finished third in the same event dressed in the uniform provided by ANTA on the podium next to Sun.

Sun changed to the ANTA outfit when he won another event on Monday. However, he covered the logo with a decal of the Chinese national flag when he stood on the podium.

“Normally, the contract between the delegation and ANTA would specify where and when the athletes should wear their outfits,” Xu Xinming, a Beijingbased lawyer who specializes in intellectual property rights, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Sun’s behavior could have made the delegation violate the agreement, and Sun may have to pay compensation, Xu said. As an athlete representing the country, Sun should first abide by the rules of the national team down to his attire, Xu noted.

ANTA posted a sign on Weibo on Monday saying that podium wear represents the “bottom line of a country, and should not be violated.”

Netizens said ANTA was exaggerating and that it is “fighting for its own benefit.” Others believe the company should protect its legal interests.

The 361° company failed to respond as of press time. The company said it is also a sponsor of the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta.

India swelled with pride on Tuesday after Vinesh Phogat became the country’s first woman wrestler to win gold at the Asian Games, with congratulations pouring in from her family, politicians and Bollywood celebrities.

Vinesh, 23, beat Japan’s Yuki Irie in the final of the 50-kilogram category to clinch the title late Monday.

“Nothing can match the feeling of winning a Gold for #India and all the wonderful people of our country whose blessings and wishes give me strength,” Vinesh posted on Twitter on Tuesday, with a photo of her and her coaches and waving the Indian flag.

The grappler won a bronze medal at the Asian Games four years ago.

Her cousins Geeta and Babita Kumari Phogat are former Commonwealth Games champions, and their extraordinary rise from one of India’s most conservative states was captured in the Bollywood blockbuster film Dangal in 2016.

The northern state of Haryana, where the Phogats hail from and the film is set, has a reputation for being conservative and male-dominated, with some of the highest rates in India of violence against women.

The film – Bollywood’s highest-grossing movie of all time – is based on Vinesh’s real-life uncle, wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, who is played by actor Aamir Khan, and his struggle to turn his daughters Geeta and Babita into worldclass wrestlers.

Vinesh also initially trained under her uncle.

“Not only me, but all of India is proud of her. Look at what our girls can do – from wrestling in mud pits to Olympics, Commonwealths and now Asian Games,” Mahavir told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

“These victories show that Indian girls, no matter where they are from, can be stars, can outshine boys. This will definitely encourage more girls to join sports.”

Vinesh’s on-screen uncle, Khan, congratulated her late Monday and tweeted a popular dialogue from the film: “Mhaari chhoriyan chhoron se kam hai ke!” – which translates to, “My girls are no less than boys!”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to Twitter to wish Vinesh, saying her “repeated success will surely inspire upcoming athletes.”

Vinesh started the Asian Games by defeating China’s Sun Ya’nan – an opponent against whom she had suffered a leg injury in the 2016 Olympics.

“Someone has said an athlete becomes strong after injury and I feel I indeed have become stronger than before,” Vinesh told reporters after her winning bout.

She has enjoyed a stellar season, claiming a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in April and another at the Spanish Grand Prix wrestling tournament last month.