BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Here are the latest Chinese sports headlines from the past week:
1. China draws with Thailand in World Cup qualifier
Behram Abduweli scored a late equalizer in his international debut as China drew with Thailand 1-1 at home in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on June 6.
Supachok Sarachat broke the deadlock for the visitors 20 minutes into play, and the home side had to wait until the 79th minute to level the score through Abduweli's goal.
The draw means China needs at least one point away to South Korea in the last round of the second stage to advance into the final stage of the qualifying tournament.
2. China's fencing team announces foil roster for Paris Olympics
China finalized its roster for the Paris Olympics foil competitions after a national trial that concluded on June 4.
Wang Yuting secured a women's team and individual spot through the national trial, joining Chen Qingyuan and Huang Qianqian. Jiao Enqi earned a reserve spot.
Mo Ziwei, Chen Haiwei and Xu Jie had already won their places in the men's team and individual competitions in Paris, and Wu Bin managed to earn a reserve spot through the national trial.
3. Zheng falls in dramatic rain-delayed three-setter at French Open
In a dramatic and rain-interrupted match at the French Open on June 1, China's Zheng Qinwen battled fiercely but ultimately fell in a three-set thriller against Elina Avanesyan.
The match was marked by a controversial call in the second set that saw Zheng's momentum falter, concluding with a narrow defeat in the decisive tiebreak 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) after a gruelling battle of two hours and 52 minutes.
Zheng's exit meant no Chinese player made the last eight in singles at Roland Garros this year.
Zhang Shuai/Marcelo Arevalo and Zhang Zhizhen/Tomas Machac both crashed out in the quarterfinals in mixed doubles and men's doubles respectively.
4. Fan, Sun victorious at WTT Champions Chongqing
World champion Fan Zhendong and world No. 1 Sun Yingsha took the men's and women's singles title respectively at the 2024 World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Chongqing on June 3.
Fan saw his 3-0 lead leveled by teammate and world No. 1 Wang Chuqin in the men's final, but held on his nerves to claim the decider 11-4 for the eventual victory.
Sun also needed seven sets to beat her teammate Wang Manyu, who was leading the overall score twice but succumbed to a more stable Sun 11-9 in the deciding set.
5. China loses to Japan twice in women's basketball pre-Olympic warm-ups
Without star players Han Xu and Li Meng, China's women's basketball team was edged by Japan 61-58 on June 5 and lost to the same opponents again 74-56 on June 7 in the pre-Olympic warm-up series.
"With too many good insiders and forwards sitting out due to injuries, our offense was heavily impacted," China head coach Zheng Wei said.
"In the next phase of pre-Olympics preparation, we will work to enhance our players' ability of dealing with pressure," She added.
The Chinese women's team is scheduled to travel to Europe later this month for a series of friendly games with European teams.■
