Public sentiment in China toward Lin Xiaojun (Im Hyo-jun·28) is rapidly cooling. He was evaluated as the "symbol of naturalization success" and a figure who would lead the resurgence of Chinese short track, but recent poor form has quickly dampened fans' expectations.
Lin Xiaojun won the only gold medal among Chinese men at the 2025 Harbin Winter Asian Games last winter, creating dramatic headlines. After naturalization, he reached the top of an international competition for the first time and was hailed as a "hero of a new era," drawing a flood of requests for television appearances and interviews. Major Chinese portals at the time named him the "hottest sports star."
In particular, the "patriotic remarks" he made in a February interview with Wangyi.com stoked public sentiment.
Lin Xiaojun said, "I am Chinese. Winning a gold medal wearing the five-star red flag as a representative of China is the proudest moment of my life," and "as a Chinese athlete, I want to communicate freely with the media and feel the support of the people directly." His remarks topped real-time search rankings on Chinese social media and caused a huge reaction.
But the peak of the frenzy did not last long. Just eight months later, at the International Skating Union (ISU) 2025-2026 short track World Tour second event, he produced results below expectations.
At the competition held in Montreal, Canada, from the 16th to the 20th, Lin Xiaojun was disqualified three times.
In the men's 500m heats on the 17th, he was penalized for a foul play, and in the men's 1,500m quarterfinals he was disqualified for impeding another skater's lane. He also fell in the 1,000m and was eliminated early.
Once hailed as a "perfect naturalization success case," public opinion in China has sharply turned against him because of this slump.
Sohu.com criticized, "The Chinese short track national team once matched Korea with four Olympic gold medals, but after the collapse of the talent development system, dependence on naturalized athletes increased."
It added, "Lin Xiaojun no longer shows his former self. The naturalization policy, which invested huge sums of money and time, has not borne substantive fruit," and assessed, "He has produced results at some small and medium competitions, but performance declines are evident in tournaments aimed at the World Tour or the Olympics."
Views surrounding Lin Xiaojun in China have clearly changed. At the time of the Harbin gold medal he was praised as a "model of successful naturalization," but recently criticisms have emerged that "it weakened the national team competition system."
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