National shuttler Ng Tze Yong (黄智勇) has been making a name for himself in the badminton world, much to the pride of Malaysians. But, his recent loss during the French Open has caused a stir among fans, especially after they ended up blaming YouTuber Darence Chan (曾維宏) for it.
In 2022, Darence Chan made news when his cheering at the Commonwealth Games was heard live. Now, that same cheering has gotten him threats from fellow Malaysian fans. It’s gotten bad enough that Ng Tze Yong himself was recently prompted to step in to diffuse the situation.
Siapa si bodoh yang kurang ajar sangat chant macam tu masa Ng Tze Yong tengah main?? Kalau aku memang rabak dah muka kau kena hempuk dengan raket 😒 pic.twitter.com/NbZtn0kocs
— ALAN (@IniAlalalannn) October 30, 2023
The Super 750 French Open held last Saturday (28th Oct) saw Tze Yong pitted against China’s Li Shi Feng. Unfortunately, despite the high hopes riding on Tze Yong’s back, he loss brutally to the other with a score of 17-21, 12-21. While losses are par for the course in any game, others felt the fault lay with Darence Chan who had been on the scene, shouting his cheers as usual.
The die-hard badminton fan had been spotted watching the game in France, having flown there. Unfortunately, his cheering this time was not as well-received as fans felt his loud slogans and cheers were “annoying” and opined it would distract players on court. Darence was also criticised for using air horns at the venues.
Additionally, fans took issue with some of the things Darence had shouted at Tze Yong during the game, such as singing “Are you sleeping?” and criticising Tze Yong’s performance. Unfortunately, all this led to other fans taking matters into their own hands. Allegedly, he had been besieged on his socials over his behaviour with some even sending him “death threats”.
Darence later contacted Tze Yong via social media to apologize for his behaviour. “I hope you do read this comment as I want to apologise for what happened when you were on court yesterday – specifically the “are you sleeping” comment,” he said in his message. He claimed he had wanted to attempt “reverse psychology” with the act, but hadn’t expected it to kill morale instead.
The super-fan also went on to promise he would not do it again, adding he has been receiving slander and death threats from other fans. “All I want is just (to) be able to freely express myself and to support Malaysia as I want the best for you all,” he said. Luckily, Tze Yong was gracious enough to accept his apology.
“Just don’t do it anymore,” the shuttler added. “I understand (that) you as a fan hoped we can win the match so maybe at the moment, you didn’t think much about your actions.” Still, Tze Yong made sure to thank him for his support. He also told others: “To all the fans, please stop sending him (Darence) death threats. End in Peace!”
Well, enthusiasm is great, but clearly fans are of the opinion that Darence Chan needs to reign himself in a little, especially during the shuttlers’ matches. Hopefully Ng Tze Yong’s reprimand will help Darence out somewhat!
Sources: China Press
