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Jonathan White

Following the success of Chinese women’s football team in qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, netizens are asking why the country’s women are outperforming the men.
The hashtag “Why China’s three major women’s teams have better results than the men’s team” has been read more than 100 million times on the country’s Twitter-like Weibo.
China’s women’s teams have qualified for football, basketball and volleyball in Tokyo, while the men’s teams have failed to do so. 
It is the same story with rugby sevens, where the women won the Asian qualifiers, and field hockey.

There is some hope that China’s men will join their female counterparts in Tokyo – though the odds are against them.
Men’s basketball qualifiers will be finalised in June with China facing an uphill battle in their group in Victoria, Canada. 
China fans congratulate Wang Shuang and women’s football team – then stick boot into men
They play Greece, led by NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and hosts Canada. The winner plays one of Uruguay, Czech Republic and Turkey.
Neither Chinese team has qualified for the handball with qualification for beach volleyball to be settled in June as is baseball. 
The world No 22 Chinese baseball team can qualify if they overcome hosts Taiwan – 4th in the world – Australia (No 6) and Netherlands (No 9) in the postponed qualifiers.


China’s softball team missed out. 
“Among the eight collective ball events of the Tokyo Olympics, the Chinese team has obtained six qualifications, all of which belong to the Chinese women’s team,” says the introduction of the topic on Weibo.
“So the question is, are our collective ball events really declining?”
Tokyo 2020 might see no Chinese men’s teams after volleyball and football failures
The women’s volleyball team are the reigning champions, having won gold in Rio in 2016 with Zhu Ting named MVP.
China’s women’s footballers trended on Weibo after their 2-2 draw secured a 4-3 aggregate win over South Korea in Suzhou on Tuesday.
The hashtag “China Qualified For Tokyo 2020” generated 780 million impressions on the platform and over 200,000 discussions. It was the top trending topic across the whole site on Tuesday night.


The #SteelRoses qualification to @Tokyo2020 was the headline of many newspapers across China! 🥰 pic.twitter.com/8JDp3jrN8U
— China Women's Football - 中国女足 (@CHNWNT) April 14, 2021

Many commenters questioned why the men performed so poorly in comparison, with some even calling for the men’s national football team to be scrapped.
China’s men recently dropped to 77th in the Fifa world rankings, behind Curacao and Cape Verde.


Meet Emma McKeon: Cody Simpson’s girlfriend is a superstar swimmer and Australia’s most decorated Olympian who worked hard to win her medals – and she can thank her career for her relationship too

Hong Kong museum to showcase Olympic medals from local, mainland Chinese athletes

Chinese Olympians show fun side while offering Hongkongers words of advice on never giving up

East Asia’s Olympics results are a testament to a changing world

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Tokyo 2020: Chinese netizens ask why women’s teams are better than men’s

China’s women’s football team celebrate qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Photo: AFP

China’s Xu Yunli (11) celebrates with teammates Zhu Ting (2) and Yang Fangxu (3) during the gold medal volleyball match against Serbia at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: AP

Yao Ming (right), chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, and Yi Jianlian of China react during defeat to Nigeria at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Guangzhou. Photo: Xinhua

Tokyo Olympics: China fans congratulate Wang Shuang and women’s football team – then stick boot into men

China’s Wang Shuang celebrates after the second leg of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Asian qualification play-offs win over  South Korea in Suzhou. Photo: Xinhua

China star Wang Shuang wasn’t ‘forced’ to leave PSG by national team ahead of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

China’s Wang Shuang celebrates scoring  against South Korea in the second leg of the Tokyo Olympics Asian qualification play-off in Suzhou. Photo: Xinhua

Wang celebrates scoring against South Korea in the Olympic qualifier on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua

Tokyo 2020 Olympics: no Chinese vaccines to be taken by Team Japan, minister says

Seiko Hashimoto (second from right, front row), president of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organising committee, and Japan’s Olympic minister Tamayo Marukawa (right, front row) in Tokyo during a teleconference with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach. Photo: Kyodo

epa09048266 Tamayo Marukawa, Japan’s Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Game, attends the five-party meeting at the Tokyo 2020 headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, 03 March 2021. The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) held a five-party meeting on 03 March 2021 with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Government of Japan, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). EPA-EFE/Du Xiaoyi / POOL

Olympic MVP Zhu Ting confident despite Tokyo 2020 delay

Zhu Ting in action with Vakifbank Istanbul at the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship in Shaoxing, China. Vakifbank Istanbul won 3-0 to claim the title. Photo: Xinhua

China's volleyball national coach Lang Ping (RIGHT) and player Zhu Ting meet the press in Macau.

Sport

China


Hashtag has had more than 100 million reads on Weibo after women’s football team qualified for Tokyo 2020
Footballers join women’s basketball team and Olympic champion volleyballers at Summer Games but men miss out



Hashtag has had more than 100 million reads on Weibo after women’s football team qualified for Tokyo 2020 as fans ask why men’s teams have failed.


Chinese Football Association (CFA)

CBA (Chinese Basketball Association)

Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Weibo

Tokyo 2020: Chinese netizens ask why women’s teams are better than men’s

Hashtag has had more than 100 million reads on Weibo after women’s football team qualified for Tokyo 2020 Footballers join women’s basketball team and Olympic champion volleyballers at Summer Games but men miss out

Hashtag has had more than 100 million reads on Weibo after women’s football team qualified for Tokyo 2020

Footballers join women’s basketball team and Olympic champion volleyballers at Summer Games but men miss out