Winter Olympics: ‘handsome’ Sidney Chu ‘flustered’ by surge in Chinese social media attention after flag-bearing duties for Hong Kong

The 22-year-old skater became one of Weibo’s hottest trends for his ‘cute’ looks and Mandarin accent

Calling it ‘heartwarming’, Chu hopes Chinese netizens become familiar with ‘how far we’ve come in terms of winter sports for a place that doesn’t have snow or ice’

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Hong Kong team flag-bearer Sidney Chu at the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympic Games at the National Stadium in China. Photo: EPA

Published: 8:43pm, 5 Feb 2022Updated: 9:56am, 6 Feb 2022

Hong Kong’s Winter Olympics opening ceremony flag-bearer Sidney Chu woke up to a flood of messages after becoming an overnight sensation on Chinese social media.

The 22-year-old, who led team Hong Kong’s delegation at a dazzling event in the National Stadium on Friday, ignited the hashtag #香港旗手好看– “Hong Kong’s handsome flag-bearer” – on social media and shot to the second-hottest trend on Weibo with more than 2.34 million posts.

Netizens lathered the short-track speed skater with praise of his “handsome” looks and “cute dongbei accent” having watched his several pre-Games interviews in his northeastern Mandarin twang.

Hong Kong short-track speed skater Sidney Chu in a training session before the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Photo: Reuters

“What can I say? I’m a little flustered,” Chu said, complimenting the ceremony’s “smooth” organisation and “beautiful” portrayal of its sustainability and simplicity themes.

“I woke up this morning and my phone was all notifications – I had no way of scrolling to the end. It seems kind of weird because I didn’t really do anything out of the ordinary. I just did my job and waved the flag.

“But it’s very fun and supportive to know that a lot of Chinese netizens think I’m attractive. It’s heartwarming.”