The Chinese Volleyball Federation had to apologize for making its players play with a mask in an Asian Cup match, after multiple complaints about it were made on the Asian country’s social networks.
The match in question was between the Chinese women’s team and the Iranian team in the tournament held in the Philippines.
The clash ended in a 3-1 win for the Chinese, one of the best teams in the world, but they dropped the first set, which they played in N95 masks.
In a statement published this Friday, the federation explained that the team’s organizers had been informed of players infected with covid in other teams before the match, in addition to having members of their own delegation with symptoms.
To prevent the spread, they required their players to wear masks when entering the pitch.
But due to a communication issue and “lack of experience,” the athletes kept their masks on throughout the first set.
The images of the players wearing the masks quickly went viral on Weibo, equivalent to the social network Twitter that is censored in the country, with more than 16 million views.
“Letting female players wear N95 masks in competitions is extremely irresponsible for high-level athletes,” commented one user on the social network.
“This is not billiards, this is volleyball, which demands a lot from the body,” said another Internet user.
Some users, trying to justify the use of masks by players, pointed out that the US and Brazilian women’s volleyball teams had previously used them in other tournaments.
“Using some images from March 2021 to explain what happens in August 2022, your IQ is touching,” another user responded.
China maintains a strict zero tolerance policy against covid with the argument of protecting the elderly population, which in a high percentage is not vaccinated, or avoiding a health collapse.
In addition to incalculable economic losses, these harsh measures have caused visible signs of irritation and discontent in the population, which until now had mostly supported this government policy. EFE
