REUTERS/Naoki Ogura
- A Chinese volleyball star is taking online trolls to court, claiming they are "deliberately smearing" her.
- Zhu Ting was accused of falling out with her teammates as China failed to make it to the knockout rounds at Tokyo.
- Social media users also said the Rio 2016 gold medalist focused too much on her commercial commitments.
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A Chinese volleyball player who competed at the Tokyo Olympics has said she is taking online trolls to court after they harassed her on social media.
Zhu Ting accused the trolls of "deliberately smearing" her and took to Chinese social media platform Weibo to say that the next stop was "People's Court."
China missed out on a place in the quarterfinals having finished fifth in pool B. The team, which won gold at Rio 2016, won just two of its five games and Zhu was highlighted for criticism.
Some commentators blamed Zhu for the failure to progress and accused her of falling out with her teammates as well as prioritizing her commercial commitments over the games.
On Wednesday, the player, famed for her spiking ability, hit back and said "Notarized, fixed evidence. Reported to police. Requesting criminal accountability. Next stop, People's Court."
Zhu, who carried the Chinese flag in the opening ceremony, shared images with the Weibo post of the case being filed with the Shanghai Public Security Bureau.
Her lawyer also confirmed the details of the claim and said "between July 19 and August 2, some netizens on the internet spread rumors about Zhu and deliberately smeared her," according to the South China Morning Post.
It is unclear how many individual trolls Zhu intends to take to court, but a Chinese lawyer told state media outlet Global Times that their actions likely constitute a crime.
"According to the law, insulting others publicly will result in a sentence of a fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years if the circumstances are serious," Yan Yiming said.
Chinese coach Lang Ping, who resigned after the Olympics, said that Zhu was injured following the team's opening match defeat to Turkey.