This is the moment a sour second-place singer hurls his trophy back at the judges.

Footage from the contest shows the top three contestants lined up at the School of Journalism and Communication at Zhejiang Media College in eastern China on December 15.

The runner-up, dressed in a white suit, stands in the middle of the other winners, looking displeased as officials bring forward their trophies.

When one presenter hands him his second-place trophy, he immediately throws it back with a furious scowl.

Organisers continued the ceremony while he glared angrily at the audience as the clip ended.

Local media reported that the contender felt he had been unfairly placed second due to the judging process, which allocated only 40 per cent of the score to online votes.

The competitor reportedly believed that organisers had not given his fans enough time to vote and had turned off the ballot while his support was peaking.

However, the judges, who were also students at the college, stated: 'The counting time for each contestant was the same, which was fair.'