Chinese Officials Accuse 'Western Media' Of 'Unfairly Targeting China' With Photo Of Hou Zhihui

Chinese officials are not happy.

They have accused "western media" of "unfairly targeting China" after a photograph was published of weightlifter Hou Zhihui competing at the Olympic Games.

In the picture, Hou can be seen pushing his body to the extreme during a heavy lift in Tokyo - an event which he ended up clinching gold in.

And just like any average person who lifts weights (even me at my local gym bicep curling about 3kgs on each arm), Hou happens to be a pulling a concentrated face during the agonising exercise.

PA

PA

You know, the one where he's clearly using every fibre and muscle in his body to try and get that weight off the ground? Yes, that's the one.

Well, it seems Chinese officials aren't best pleased with the image and have now accused media outlets of "putting politics and ideologies above sport" by publishing the "shameless" photograph online.

The Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka tweeted: "Among all the photos of the games, Reuters has chosen this one, which only shows how ugly they are.

"Don't put politics and ideologies above sports, and call yourself an unbiased media organisation. Shameless.

"Respect the spirit of Olympics."

But Reuters weren't finished with their lashing just yet.

Chinese newspaper The Global Times also called them out, accusing the British-based newswire as well as CNN of "unfairly targeting China".

Twitter

"The selection of the controversial photo also angered Chinese netizens," the article in The Global Times read.

"Some on Sina Weibo (blogging website) said it only exposes the 'mean' face of Western media.

The Global Times then included some comments from Sina Weibo users.

"See how evil they are, not respecting Hou at all," one person wrote.

While another added: "Smear and defame won't stop Chinese athletes winning honour for the country."

China currently lead the total medal tally with 18 golds, silvers and bronzes.

But it's host nation Japan who actually lead the race for gold medals, bagging a total of eight already.

Topics: Weightlifting, olympics, Tokyo Olympics, powerlifting, Australia,

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry