National men’s doubles shuttler Aaron Chia has opened up about online bullying that he and other shuttlers are often subjected to.
Chia and his partner Soh are believed to be among the shuttlers targeted by online trolls recently, on the back of their performance at the French Open in October.
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“It’s really common ever since I started playing badminton. Honestly, it’s just part of the career. Most of it comes from fake accounts, and even if you block them, they keep coming back.
“The best thing is to focus on what we’re aiming for. It doesn’t matter to me,” Chia told The Rakyat Post
The Badminton Association of Malaysia had last month issued a statement condemning the hate messages sent to the national shuttlers, including death threats.
Most of the online bullying is believed to be from punters who lost their bets in the matches involving these players.
Scotland women’s singles shuttler Kristy Gilmour had also previously opened up about her experience dealing with online bullying, and how it affected her emotional well-being.
In Malaysia, the Safe Sport Act under the Ministry of Youth & Sports regulates that any individual who is a victim of abuse with criminal intent can lodge a complaint to the Royal Malaysia Police that is aligned to their national sports association internal procedure.
As for Chia-Soh, they will next prepare for two assignments to complete the 2025 season which are the upcoming Sea Games in Thailand, followed by the World Tour Finals in China.
The world number two pair have done well this year, and are looking to add to their three titles won this year at the Asia Championships, Thailand Open and Singapore Open.
