Wu Yanni’s failure to reach the final of the women’s 60 metres hurdles at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing on Sunday ignited a furious debate on social media. Despite setting a new national record time of 8.01 seconds, the 27-year-old missed out on the final by 0.01 seconds. Her time was the fourth fastest ever run by an Asian woman, but was only good enough for sixth in her semi-final and, while some slammed Wu for not challenging for a medal, others leapt to her defence, arguing she was the best the country had to offer. “Her ability and fame do not match up,” one user said. “She’s just a marketing tool and an internet celebrity,” another said. One popular comment compared Wu to China’s Olympic gold medal-winning hurdler Liu Xiang in terms of their level of fame, before adding “but her strength is a million miles away.” Wu, who competed at the Paris Olympics last year, continues to divide opinion among Chinese sports fans because of her outspoken personality, tattoos and make-up. In China, national sports stars cannot show tattoos on television. But Wu also has a strong following who were quick to defend her on Weibo. “[She’s] already No 1 in China, every improvement in the future will be a breakthrough,” one comment read. Another fan said: “Just 0.01 seconds [short of making the final], it’s the smallest of margins.” “Although you didn’t make the finals, you ran your best and broke the national record,” another user wrote. “This is your medal for your hard work and struggle, you are the pride of all of us. “In the future, keep running and moving towards better places.” Despite failing to make the finals, Wu began to cry when she looked at the screen and saw that she had set a national record. “This national record of 8.01 seconds is dedicated to all my fans, family and friends who have supported me,” Wu said after the race. “Without their encouragement, I wouldn’t have achieved this result today. “This achievement doesn’t belong to me alone.” In the men’s 60m hurdles, Chinese athlete Liu Junxi clocked a time of 7.55 seconds at the Nanjing Cube arena to win bronze. Liu was beaten by American Grant Holloway, who won gold in 7.42, ahead of France’s Wilhem Belocian, who finished in 7.54.