2LT National News

BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) — Here are the latest Chinese sports headlines from the past week:

1. Hong Kong, Macao, Guangdong to co-host China’s 15th National Games in November next year

China’s 15th National Games will be held from November 9 to 21, 2025 in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, announced the organizing committee, which was established on April 11.

Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao will co-host the 15th National Games for the first time in National Games history, the opening ceremony will be held in Guangzhou and the closing ceremony will be in Shenzhen.

The Games will feature 34 competitive sports and 23 mass sports activities. The majority of events will occur in Guangdong. Hong Kong is set to host eight competitive sports events, including men’s basketball, track cycling, and fencing. Meanwhile, Macao will host four competitive sports events, such as table tennis and women’s volleyball.

2. China wins 11 golds at weightlifting World Cup

Chinese weightlifters win 11 gold, nine silver and seven bronze medals and shattered five world records at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup in Phuket, Thailand that concluded on April 11.

Olympic champion Li Wenwen swept three golds in the women’s +87kg category, and her teammates Liu Huanhua set new world records in the clean and jerk and in total to win two gold medals in the men’s 102kg category.

Li Fabin (men’s 61kg) and Luo Shifang (women’s 59kg) also bagged two golds while Hou Zhihui (women’s 49kg) and Shi Zhiyong (men’s 73kg) added one each.

3. Xinjiang forward Abdusalam wins CBA MVP award

Xinjiang Flying Tigers forward Abdusalam Abdurexit was named the 2023-24 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league regular season Most Valuable Player (MVP) on April 8.

Having played all 52 regular season games, including 51 starts, Abdusalam averaged 19 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists as Xinjiang improved from 17th place last season to the runner-up position during this campaign.

Xinjiang also had its head coach Qiu Biao named Coach of the Year.

4. Zheng leads China to unbeaten run in tennis Billie Jean King Cup Asia-Oceania Group I

Spearheaded by world No. 7 Zheng Qinwen, China took the top spot in Asia-Oceania Group I with a 5-0 record and thus locked a place in the Billie Jean King Cup playoffs in November.

China fended off Chinese Taipei on April 10, before beating India, New Zealand, Pacific Oceania and South Korea on the following days.

The playoff will feature eight losing teams in this year’s BJK Cup Qualifiers and eight teams from regional Group I events. The 16 teams will be looking to earn a place in the BJK Cup Qualifiers next year.

5. China tallies six golds at artistic swimming World Cup

Hosts China topped the medal tally with six golds as the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup concluded on April 7 at the National Aquatic Center in Beijing.

Eighteen-year-old Xu Huiyan was one of the most shining stars as she claimed three gold medals in women’s solo technical, solo free and team technical. Twins Lin Yanhan/Lin Yanjun triumphed in the women’s duet technical, and Ji Heyue/Guo Muye won mixed duet technical.

In the team free, the only event with the participation of the hosts’ top swimmers, China eased past Australia to pocket the gold.