BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Here are the latest Chinese sports headlines over the past week:
1. Feature: The calling of the whistle
Fourth official Ma Ning reacts prior to the Group A match between the Netherlands and Qatar at the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, Nov. 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo)
With great pride and yet still some regret, Chinese referees Ma Ning, Shi Xiang and Cao Yi ended their 2022 FIFA World Cup journey.
Despite not getting the chance to officiate a match together, the three college P.E. teachers were still the first Chinese officials to feature at a FIFA World Cup after 20 years.
Just two weeks after returning to China, Ma and Shi made their next appearance in the Chinese Super League (CSL).
2. Yearender: Top 10 Chinese sports news events in 2022
The Olympic delegation of the People's Republic of China parades into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games on February 4. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)
- Beijing successfully hosted the Olympic Winter Games from February 4 to 20 and the Paralympic Winter Games from March 4 to 13. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the opening and closing ceremonies and declared both events open.
- On February 6, China beat South Korea in the AFC Women's Asian Cup final, bringing home its ninth trophy of the tournament after a 16-year wait. The Steel Roses' journey to glory was nearly perfect, scoring 11 goals and conceding zero in the group stage.
- A guideline on building a higher-level public service system for fitness and physical activities was released in March. China also released plans to promote high-quality development of farmers' sports, after-school sports service, women's football as well as outdoor sports industry in 2022.
- China's bronze medal in the men's 4x100 meters relay at last year's Tokyo Olympics was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in May after Britain was stripped of the silver over a doping violation. The Chinese quartet of Su Bingtian, Xie Zhenye, Wu Zhiqiang and Tang Xingqiang posted a time of 37.79 seconds to finish behind Italy, Britain and Canada in Tokyo. But the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on February 18 that Britain's first-leg runner, Chijindu Ujah, had violated anti-doping regulations. This resulted in the upgrade of Canada and China to silver and bronze medals, respectively.
- 2022 marked a fruitful year for Chinese tennis. In May, Zheng Qinwen reached the round of 16 in her maiden French Open main draw appearance. In August's US Open, qualifier Wu Yibing became the first Chinese mainland player to reach the men's singles third round of any Grand Slam event in the Open Era. In October, Zhang Zhizhen became the first male player from the Chinese mainland to break into the top 100 in the ATP live rankings.
- In June, the Workplan for the China Youth Football League (CYFL) (2022-2024) was released by the Ministry of Education, the State General Administration of Sport and the Chinese Football Association. From July 10 to late November, a total of 1,443 games were played during the inaugural CYFL, involving nearly 10,000 players from 405 teams across the country, marking vital progress in the integration of sports and education in China.
- A revision to China's sports law was passed on June 24 at the session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee and will take effect on January 1, 2023. This was the first comprehensive and systematic revision since the law's initial enforcement in 1995.
- China won all eight matches to claim its fifth consecutive women's team title at the 2022 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships held in Chengdu, China from September 30 to October 9. Meanwhile, the Chinese men's team swept Germany 3-0 to lift the trophy for the 10th time in a row.
- China battled past Olympic bronze medalists France and hosts Australia en route to reaching the final of the women's basketball World Cup for the first time in 28 years. China lost to the United States 83-61 in the final, but the silver medal for China's women represented the nation's best finish in the global showpiece since 1994.
- China will launch extensive public fitness initiatives, improve physical education for the youth, promote all-round development of recreational and competitive sports, and move faster to build China into a country strong in sports, according to the report delivered to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in Beijing from October 16 to 22.
3. We have 'no limit' in basketball World Cup, says China head coach Djordjevic
Serbia's head coach Aleksandar Djordjevic reacts during a friendly basketball match between Lithuania and Serbia in Kaunas, Lithuania, Aug. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Alfredas Pliadis)
Aleksandar Djordjevic, newly appointed head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team, has told Xinhua that he has high expectations for his side at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Djordjevic arrived in China in mid-November and has since started selecting players from the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) League. He made notes and rated players with stars while watching games at courtside.
The 55-year-old Serbian said that the CBA league has strong game intensity and physical contact, and many talented young players have left a deep impression on him.
4. Yearender: China forges ahead to become sporting powerhouse
Peng Cheng (L) and Jin Yang of China perform during the figure skating team event pairs free skating at Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)
Throughout 2022, Chinese athletes have achieved not only new heights at the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games but also made impressive performances in many other international competitions.
Supported by the national strategy, more and more training venues and facilities were in place, while statistics showed that over 400 million Chinese people were involved in sports activities on a regular basis to embrace a healthy life. Now, China is on its way to becoming a sporting powerhouse.
5. Yearender: Top 10 Chinese athletes of 2022
Gold medalist Chinese athlete Gu Ailing shows her medals after the awarding ceremony of freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe at Zhangjiakou Medals Plaza of the Winter Olympics in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 18, 2022. (Xinhua/Xue Yubin)
1. Gu Ailing (female, freestyle skiing)
Gu claimed gold medals from the women's big air and halfpipe and a silver in slopestyle at the Beijing Winter Olympics, becoming the first freestyle skier to win three medals in three different events at a single Winter Olympics.
2. Gao Tingyu (male, speed skating)
Gao won the men's 500m speed skating gold medal with an Olympic record of 34.32 seconds at the Beijing Winter Olympics, becoming China's first ever male Olympic gold medalist in speed skating.
3. Su Yiming (male, snowboarding)
Su won a gold medal in the men's big air and a silver in slopestyle at the Beijing Winter Olympics, becoming China's first Olympic snowboard champion.
4. Xu Mengtao (female, freestyle skiing)
Xu won China's first Olympic gold medal in the women's freestyle skiing aerials at the Beijing Winter Olympics, after she teamed up with Jia Zongyang and Qi Guangpu to claim silver in the mixed team aerials.
5. Wang Jianan (male, athletics)
Wang took Asia's first ever men's long jump gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, the United States in July.
6. Sui Wenjing/Han Cong (female/male, figure skating)
The pairs skaters triumphed at the Beijing Winter Olympics, winning China's second Olympic figure skating title after Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo did it in Vancouver in 2010.
7. Yang Hongqiong (female, para cross-country skiing)
Yang won three gold medals in the sprint, middle, and long distance sitting at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. The 33-year-old Paralympic debutant became the most decorated Chinese Para-Olympian and was named the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Paralympics.
8. Zheng Qinwen (female, tennis)
Zheng reached the round of 16 at the French Open and advanced to the third round of the Wimbledon Championships and US Open. The 20-year-old rose over 100 places to finish 25th this season in the WTA rankings and was named the 2022 WTA Newcomer of the Year.
9. Zhang Weili (female, mixed martial arts)
Zhang, China's first-ever UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) world champion, reclaimed her UFC strawweight crown at the age of 32, defeating two-time title holder Carla Esparza.
10. Chen Yuxi/Quan Hongchan (female/female, diving)
Chen and Quan finished 1-2 in the women's 10m platform at both the FINA World Championships and Diving World Cup. They also combined to win the 10m synchronized at both events, completing a "grand slam" of Olympic, World Championships and World Cup titles.
6. Yearender: Chinese football, basketball and volleyball's mixed bag in 2022
Team China members celebrate during the awarding ceremony of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022 in Sydney, Australia, Oct. 1, 2022. (Photo by Hu Jingchen/Xinhua)
For China's three most-watched team sports (football, basketball and volleyball), 2022 was a year of mixed flavors. We witnessed the rise of a supernova when the women's basketball team touched the floor of the World Cup final; we burst into tears to see the women's football team standing on top of Asia; we bumped up heartbeats in the World Cup Qualifiers the men's basketball fought for; and we swallowed the familiar bitterness of the men's football team's absence from the FIFA World Cup.
It tastes like the joy of harvest and the bitterness of defeat, and eventually, the aftertaste is hope. There won't be sunny days for every day of traveling, but keeping going is what really matters.
