BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Here are the latest Chinese sports headlines from the past week:
1. China eyes quarterfinals at AFC Asian Cup
With no specific goals openly declared for the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, the Chinese men's national football team is believed to be aiming for a quarterfinal finish.
Having missed out on the 2022 FIFA World Cup, China is eager to regain confidence at this continental tournament, which offers crucial opportunities to compete against the best teams in the Asia.
China, who is in Group A alongside Tajikistan, Lebanon and host nation Qatar, will take on Tajikistan on January 13.
2. Slogan, Mascots, emblem of Asian Winter Games unveiled
The slogan, emblem, and mascots for the 9th Asian Winter Games have been officially unveiled here on Thursday.
The 2025 Asian Winter Games organizers launched the official slogan "Dream of Winter, Love among Asia" around one year away from the opening of the Games.
At the launching ceremony, the organizers also presented the adorable tiger mascots "Binbin" and "Nini" and the official emblem which is the fusion of a short track speed skater figure, a lilac flower and dancing ribbons.
3. Zhang Weili to defend strawweight title against compatriot Yan at UFC 300
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced on January 11 that reigning women's strawweight champion Zhang Weili of China will defend her title against compatriot Yan Xiaonan at UFC 300.
Zhang vs Yan marks the first-ever all-Chinese title fight in UFC history, joining four already announced fights on the card set for April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
4. Zheng Qinwen rises to career-high 13th
China's top women's singles player Zheng Qinwen has reached the career-high 13th place in the WTA world ranking while six other Chinese women players stand in the world's top 100.
In the newly released WTA world rankings on Monday, 21-year-old Zheng Qinwen escalated to a career-high world ranking of 13 with 2,790 points after she led the Chinese team to reach the United Cup quarterfinals last week.
5. China's rising aces eye deep runs at Australian Open 2024
Headlined by rising stars Zheng Qinwen and Zhang Zhizhen, China's slew of talented players threaten giant-killing runs in Melbourne at the Australian Open, which kicks off on January 14.
With a career-high ranking of world No.13, the 21-year-old Zheng is seeded 12th - a leap from her last year's position of 29th. For Zhu Lin and Wang Xinyu, seeded 29th and 30th respectively, the 2024 Australian Open will make their first appearance as seeded players.
In the absence of Wu Yibing, Zhang and Shang Juncheng will fly the flag for China's male players. Hitting a career-high of 52 in July, Zhang is China's top men's hope and starts against Argentina's Federico Coria.
6. China's F1 driver Zhou looks forward to new season breakthrough
Zhou Guanyu, China's first F1 driver, said he's gained a lot of experience and is looking forward to making a breakthrough in his third F1 season.
"I hope to turn all the regrets of the past two years, including all the mistakes I made, into my motivation. I hope to show my best state in the new season, and look forward to a bigger breakthrough in collecting points at the races," Zhou told Xinhua recently.
The 2024 F1 season will start on February 29, with the Chinese Grand Prix returning to the race calendar at the Shanghai International Circuit from April 19 to 21 after five years. ■
