China Sports Weekly (5.18-5.24)
1. Zhejiang Lions beat Beijing Ducks to win club's first-ever CBA title
After defeating the Beijing Ducks 125-118 in Game 6 to win the best-of-seven finals 4-2 on May 20, the Zhejiang Lions claimed their first-ever Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) title in the club's 20-year history.
"The journey towards the champion is always not easy. We know our fans have high expectation on us. We handled the pressure and finally made the history," Zhejiang forward Zhu Junlong said.
Zhejiang surged to the top of the standings early in the campaign and secured the regular-season title with three games to spare. The team recovered from 2-1 down to eliminate the Qingdao Eagles 3-2 in the quarterfinals and broke their jinx against four-time champion the Liaoning Leopards with a 3-0 sweep in the semis.
After defeating Beijing in the Finals, Zhejiang became the eighth team to win a CBA championship as the league celebrated its 30th anniversary with fresh momentum.
2. Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha advance into mixed doubles final at table tennis world championships
Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha stormed into the mixed doubles final and then went their separate ways to dispose of their respective singles rivals at the World Table Tennis Championships in Doha, Qatar, on May 23.
Seeking their third consecutive world title, Wang/Sun defeated South Korea's Lim Jong-hoon/Shin Yu-bin in straight sets to set up a gold medal clash against Japan's Maharu Yoshimura/Satsuki Odo.
Wang and teammate Liang Jingkun made the last four in men's singles as they face Truls Moregard of Sweden and Hugo Calderano of Brazil in their respective semifinals.
Sun will clash with Mima Ito of Japan in the women's singles semifinal, while Chen Xingtong and Wang Manyu will vie for the other ticket to the final.
3. China clinches two titles at 2025 badminton Thailand Open
China claimed titles in the women's singles and mixed doubles at the 2025 Thailand Open on May 18.
In the women's singles final, Chen Yufei of China won the gold medal with a convincing straight-set victory over Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong, 21-16, 21-12.
In the mixed doubles final, Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping defeated teammates Gao Jiaxuan and Wu Mengying 24-22, 21-16.
At the ongoing Malaysia Masters, Chinese shuttlers secured at least one berth in the last four in four categories expect men's doubles.
4. 2025 Taklimakan Rally kicks off in Aksu
The 2025 Taklimakan Rally roared to life on May 20 in Aksu Prefecture, northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
This year's Taklimakan Rally features 23 motorcycles and 105 vehicles, with racers set to tackle extreme heat and complex topography over approximately 5,200 kilometers, including 2,350 kilometers of timed special stages across deserts and Gobi plains, before concluding on June 1 in Makit County.
A new energy vehicle category was introduced for the first time, with ten vehicles competing in the debut class.
5. Wuhan Jiangda reaches inaugural AFC Women's Champions League final
Wuhan Jiangda became the first finalist of the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League after a dominant 2-0 victory over Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City FC on May 21.
Local star Wang Shuang pounced on a poor clearance and curled a stunning strike into the net in the 34th minute. Just nine minutes into the second half, Song Duan unleashed a long-range shot from outside the penalty area to make it 2-0.
Wuhan will face Melbourne City in the final after the Australian side edged South Korea's Hyundai Steel Red Angels through a last-gasp stunner from 17-year-old Shelby McMahon.
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What mattered most in the final was the quality of our artistic choreography and the overall execution of the routine." For China, who made history by winning both the duet and team events at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, their victory at the Singapore Worlds further demonstrated the ongoing rise of Chinese artistic swimming. This triumph marks a new milestone, as the team has now surpassed the long-time powerhouse Russia. This victory solidifies China's place at the top of the sport. "What we've done in this competition, especially winning the team technical event with NAB participating, is a new chapter in the history of Chinese artistic swimming," said China's Spanish coach Ana Tarres. "It's the first time China has ever beaten this strong rival in a competition where they were both present. I think this is a great motivation for the girls. Nothing is impossible through hard work, discipline, commitment, and swimming. This is a step forward." "The team technical gold is just as important as the one we won at the Paris Olympics," said Zhang. "We've always looked forward to a direct showdown with our strongest competitors." Despite dominance at the 2024 Doha Worlds and the Paris Olympics, it wasn't until the Singapore Worlds that China dispelled doubts that they could only win in the absence of Russian competitors. Proving their competitiveness has even been a reason for veteran swimmers to stay on the team, despite already having won world and Olympic titles. "I failed to compete in the team technical, but today I participated in the acrobatic event, and we defeated NAB. We broke through the doubts with our strength," said Paris Olympic champion Zhang Yayi, who injured her foot 15 days ago but still managed to participate in the last event in Singapore. Head coach Zhang Xiaohuan added that the victory would not only motivate veteran swimmers but also inspire younger athletes and encourage everyone in China's artistic swimming. "It will boost the entire sport," she said. "Artistic swimming is developing at an incredible speed. Every competition shows how unpredictable it can be - sometimes third place can jump to first, and sometimes the champion can fall behind. It's hard to say who will win the gold medal. There is no eternal champion," she added. Team captain Feng Yu acknowledged, "We've waited for this chance to compete against a team we've been wanting to measure ourselves against for a very long time. That makes this result special." In the team free event, Feng was called upon to replace Zhang Yayi just nine days before the final. Young talents also shone. Xu Huiyan, 19, secured four gold medals and a silver in her second World Championships. 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But I think we made a big breakthrough in this competition." Looking ahead to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Russian swimmers will still be China's biggest competitors. "They (NAB) have a solid talent pool in artistic swimming. Many of their athletes are very young, born in 2007 and 2008, yet they perform at a very high level," Zhang said. "This is something we really admire and respect. Their performance still stays at a very high standard, with good synchronization, teamwork and consistency. This brings a lot of challenges for us in the future. We just won this time, but we still have a long way to go." "Compared to them, we need to make some adjustments. Many of our veteran swimmers are dealing with injuries, so we'll have to make some changes going forward," Zhang continued. "Also, I think the choreography of Spain, Italy and France is excellent." "We must always consider ourselves as challengers, never take the champion's position for granted. 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Stern China test awaits Pearly-Thinaah in semi-finals
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