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Spectator shouted ‘yellow banana’ during Chinese star’s Table tennis match

yellow banana Table tennis match
Source: Pixabay

Table tennis officials have vowed to “prevent the recurrence of racist incidents” after a spectator chanted “yellow banana” during star Chinese paddler Liang Jingkun’s round-of-16 match at the World Championships in the United States, according to the South China Morning Post.

During sixth seed Liang’s thrilling 4-3 victory over Liam Pitchford of the United Kingdom, Chinese fans and state media reacted to a member of the crowd at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, repeatedly chanting “yellow banana, yellow!”

World No. 9 Liang, who had held off a dramatic comeback from Pitchford after leading 3-1 in the men’s singles tie on Friday night, was up 8-4 in the deciding game when the fan began his chant during a break in play, according to the report.

The 15th-ranked Pitchford had taken out a banana to eat while Liang went over to speak with his coach, as a few other fans began to join in on the chant, according to the report.

In Houston, representatives of the International Table Tennis Federation condemned the incident in an interview with China Media Group.

“We got a complaint from the Chinese Table Tennis Association and we noticed something on one night ourselves,” Steve Dainton, Group CEO of the ITTF, said, as per the report.

“And as soon as we got that complaint, together with the local organisers, we took it very, very seriously, and started to take action,” he added.

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Brendan Byrne

While studying economics, Brendan found himself comfortably falling down the rabbit hole of restaurant work, ultimately opening a consulting business and working as a private wine buyer. On a whim, he moved to China, and in his first week following a triumphant pub quiz victory, he found himself bleeding on the floor based on his arrogance. The same man who put him there offered him a job lecturing for the University of Wales in various sister universities throughout the Middle Kingdom. While primarily lecturing in descriptive and comparative statistics, Brendan simultaneously earned an Msc in Banking and International Finance from the University of Wales-Bangor. He's presently doing something he hates, respecting French people. Well, two, his wife and her mother in the lovely town of Antigua, Guatemala.







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