BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Here are the latest Chinese sports headlines from the past week:
1. IOC president Bach congratulates Xinhua Sports on 40th anniversary
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach congratulated Xinhua Sports News Department on its 40th anniversary via video, saying that Xinhua has become a global media leader in Olympic news.
In 2008, during the Beijing Olympics, Xinhua was authorized by the IOC to become the host news agency and the NOPP. And on January 30, 2019, Bach visited Xinhua headquarters and announced that Xinhua has become an International News Agency recognized by the IOC.
"As you celebrate your 40th anniversary, I would like to congratulate everyone at Xinhua Sports on this important milestone. You have every reason to look back with great pride over the past 40 years," said Bach.
2. China announces delegation for Gangwon 2024
China has announced on January 5 a delegation of 98 athletes for the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG), competing in all seven sports.
The Gangwon 2024 is the first comprehensive winter sports competition that China will participate in after the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Liu Guoyong, head of the delegation and deputy director of the General Administration of Sport of China, believed the Games had great significance.
3. China has a clean sweep in WTT Men's Finals
The 2023 World Table Tennis (WTT) Men's Finals saw all-Chinese matchups in the singles and doubles finals.
Wang Chuqin beat Fan Zhendong 11-8, 11-9, 14-12, 11-7 to win the men's singles title, and Yuan Licen/Xiang Peng defeated Lin Gaoyuan/Lin Shidong 11-8, 11-2, 11-8 for the doubles crown.
4. China to send 24 swimmers to Doha World Aquatics Championships
The Chinese Swimming Association said on January 3 that China will send a team of 24 swimmers to the upcoming World Aquatics Championships in Doha in February.
Olympic and world champions such as Zhang Yufei, Wang Shun, Yang Junxuan, Ye Shiwen, Qin Haiyang and Xu Jiayu will be absent from the championships in a bid to focus on intense preparations for Paris 2024.
A new generation of swimmers, spearheaded by Li Bingjie, Yu Yiting, and Pan Zhanle, is set to represent China at the championships, aiming to gain valuable competition experience.
5. China reveals 26-man Asian Cup squad
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has unveiled the squad lists for this month's Asian Cup on January 4, with one change to China's 26-player roster.
Compared to China's squad list for a training camp last December, midfielder Li Ke of Beijing Guoan has been replaced by Shanghai Port's Xu Xin.
China's head coach Aleksandar Jankovic has called up a full-strength team, including Wu Lei, Wu Xi and Wei Shihao.
Drawn into Group A along with Tajikistan, Lebanon and hosts Qatar, China is set to play its opening match against Tajikistan on January 13.■
