A photo of Chinese athlete Lin Yuwei hugging her opponent Wu Yanni at the end of a 100-metre hurdles race has been censored in their home country.
Lin was victorious in the race at the Asian Games in Hangzhou and, in an emotional moment, embraced her fellow Chinese athlete.
However, after only a few hours the image was removed by Chinese media or edited due to a reason many sports fans wouldn’t even have contemplated.
The two athletes raced in lanes 6 and 4 – as shown in the uncensored photo by the numbers they were wearing.
Beijing has outlawed the numbers on social media due to their link to the date of the Tiananmen Square massacre – June 4, 1989 – when Chinese troops shot dead hundreds of pro-democracy protesters.
An image of Chinese athlete Lin Yuwei hugging her opponent Wu Yanni was banned in China
Lin won the gold medal in the 100m hurdles at the Asian Games on Sunday night
The massacre remains one of the most widely censored topics in China, where mentions are routinely scrubbed from the internet.
Upon the image of Lin and Wu circulating, the picture was removed by the Chinese government.
Any mentioned was greyed out by Weibo, China’s biggest social media platform.
The censoring wasn’t the only drama that surrounded the race, with Wu initially disqualified from competing following a false start.
The numbers 6 and 4 have been censored due to their links to the Tiananmen Square massacre
Chinese troops shot dead hundreds of pro-democracy protesters on June 4, 1989
However officials then showed a red card to India’s Jyothi Yarraji, who was running next to the Chinese athlete.
India protested the decision and Yarraji was reinstated, with the sprinter ultimately winning the silver medal.
The podium places were completed by Japan’s Yumi Tanaka.
Wu was allowed to run in the race under protest but was declared disqualified on the final results sheet.
The 26-year-old later issued an apology for the drama surrounding her disqualification in the final.
‘I am very sorry that my result was disqualified due to a false start, disappointing everyone’s expectations,’ Wu wrote on Weibo.
‘I deeply apologise to all my friends who have supported me and to the competitors in tonight’s race.
‘I respect the referee’s final decision, respect the rules and the competition, and congratulate my teammates and opponents who finished the race.’
The race also came with controversy over a false start that was made by Wu Yanni (left)
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