A passionate Malaysian badminton fan, Darence Chan, has faced severe backlash, including death threats, from fellow fans following his vocal support during Ng Tze Yong’s semi-final match at the Super 750 French Open in Rennes.
Darence’s loud chants, cheers, and use of air horns in the venue were deemed distracting by some, leading to intense criticism.
It is also understood that he was screaming ‘Ng Tze Yong are you sleeping’ during the match.
The situation escalated to the point where many fans blamed Darence’s actions for Tze Yong’s defeat in the semi-finals against China’s Li Shi Feng.
Darence apologizes for misbehavior
In response to the mounting threats and criticism, Darence reached out to Tze Yong to apologize for his behavior, which he believed was in good spirit to support the Malaysian team.
Tze Yong, the world No. 15 player, took to Instagram to address the situation.
In an Instagram story, he urged fans to stop sending death threats to Darence and called for peace and understanding. He wrote, “To all the fans, please stop sending him death threats. End in peace.”
‘Don’t do this again’ – Tze Yong tells
Darence, in his message to Tze Yong, expressed his intentions, saying, “I hope that there can be peace from both ends, as a lot of fans are slandering and giving me death threats. All I want is to just able to freely express myself and to support Malaysia as I want the best for you all.”
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“I accept your apology, but just don’t do it anymore. I understand you as a fan, hope that we can win the match, so maybe at that moment you didn’t think too much (about it).”
“Thank you for your continued support. Peace,” he added.
This incident is not the first of its kind. In the past, Malaysian badminton fans have been known to go to extremes, with even journalists receiving death threats from fervent supporters on social media.
