Chinese sportswear giant Li-Ning faces backlash after sidelining diving star Quan Hongchan in event photo

Quan Hongchan competes at the 2020 Toyko Olympics in Japan. Photo by Instagram/@worldaquatics

The incident has led to accusations of opportunism, with critics alleging that Li-Ning initially leveraged Quan’s popularity for marketing, but ultimately sidelined her following her recent loss to teammate and rival Chen Yuxi, South China Morning Post reported.

Quan, widely admired for her talent and humility, has a massive fan base both in China and abroad.

The controversy occurred at an event on May 6, co-hosted by the Chinese Olympic Committee and Li-Ning at the General Administration of Sport of China in Beijing.

When a group photo session took place between Olympic champions and Li-Ning officials, Quan was placed to the side while Chen was positioned at the center.

This incident has sparked public criticism and even started a wave of Li-Ning product returns. Li-Ning's live broadcast room was also filled with boycott comments, INF News reported.

The gathering marked the announcement of Li-Ning as the official sportswear partner of the Chinese Olympic Committee from 2025 to 2028, which includes the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

However, Quan recently spoke out and cleared the tension with a post showing gratitude to Li-Ning, a brand that played an important role in her growth, according to Sohu.

Quan, 18, is considered one of the most prominent young stars in Chinese sports. Her accolades included three Olympic gold medals, achieved in 2020 and 2024, five World Championships titles and two Asian Games gold medals that she won in 2022, along with multiple national gold medals.

Her dives have been noticed for receiving perfect scores as she makes a very minimal splash when hitting the water.