Wang Meng from China who took An Hyeon-su says "Korea has no right to criticize An Hyeon-su"

"An Hyun-soo Was Brought from Russia, Not from Korea"

After the mixed-gender short track relay semifinals at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics held on the 5th at the Beijing Capital Indoor Stadium, South Korean team coach Kim Seon-tae (left) and technical coach Ahn Hyun-soo (Viktor An) are waiting for the video review results. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Former Chinese short track speed skater Wang Meng claimed that South Korea has "no right to criticize" An Hyun-soo (Russian name Viktor An), the technical coach of the Chinese short track team, amid the criticism from South Korea.

According to Chinese media Guancha.cn on the 9th, Wang Meng appeared on the internet video platform Soho Hanwei the day before and explained, "I brought him (Coach An) from Russia, not from Korea," adding, "He had declared his retirement in Russia and wanted a stage for himself, so I brought him here."

Wang Meng continued, "At that time, no one offered him a coaching position," and added, "Who offered him the (coaching) position? It was China who made the offer."

The video featuring Wang Meng became a hot topic on China's Twitter-like platform Weibo, ranking among the popular search terms with over 200 million views. As the video gained attention, hashtags such as 'KoreanCoach', 'AnHyunsooFamilyCriticismInKorea' appeared among the trending search terms on Weibo.

An, who was a South Korean short track ace, renounced his Korean nationality in 2011 and naturalized as a Russian citizen. After declaring his retirement, he is currently serving as the technical coach of the Chinese short track team and participated in the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Wang Meng, who was also the former head coach of the Chinese short track team, has built a friendship with Coach An since 2002 and offered him the technical coach position for the Chinese team in 2018. An decided to join the Chinese team in 2019 and declared his retirement in April 2020.

However, following the 'Hanbok controversy' at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony and a series of questionable judgments by the referees, criticism against the host country China has intensified domestically, and the backlash has extended to Coach An as well.

In response, on the 8th, An posted on his social media, "Knowing how desperate and important the Olympic stage is for athletes, as a senior, colleague, and coach watching the events on site, I also feel heartbroken about the ongoing judgment issues," expressing his feelings.

He continued, "I humbly accept any criticism or reproach. But the most painful and difficult thing is that my innocent family members are being hurt and suffering," appealing for an end to the criticism directed at his family.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.