BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Here are the latest Chinese sports headlines from the past week:
1. Chinese sports enthusiasts celebrate Olympic Day, embrace Paris Olympics
Sports fans across China marked Olympic Day on June 23 with various sports activities, showing their enthusiasm for the upcoming Paris Olympic Games, which opens in just over one month's time.
Olympic Day aims to encourage global participation in sports, regardless of gender, age, or athletic ability. This year's Olympic Day, carrying the theme "Let's Move," inspired events in 14 Chinese cities and counties, including Beijing, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Qingdao. Thousands of sports enthusiasts enjoyed fun runs, Olympic culture camps and more.
2. China secures 12 Paris Games spots at Olympic Qualifier Series
Twelve Chinese athletes secured Olympic spots in BMX freestyle, breaking, sport climbing, and skateboarding for the upcoming Paris 2024 after the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) hosted in Shanghai and Budapest.
In sport climbing, China's Pan Yufei and Luo Zhilu secured Olympic quotas in men's and women's Boulder & Lead, respectively. Wu Peng and Zhou Yafei secured men's and women's speed climbing spots respectively for Paris 2024.
In breaking, Qi Xiangyu and Zeng Yingying obtained spots in the men's and women's events, respectively, while Sun Jiaqi and Deng Yawen qualified for the women's freestyle BMX.
With these additions to previously secured spots, China now holds seven sport climbing spots, four skateboarding spots, three breaking spots, and two freestyle BMX spots for the Paris Olympics.
3. China reaches FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup semis
The 2.23-meter-tall sensational center Zhang Ziyu led China to collect three easy victories in the FIBA U18 Women's Aisa Cup, and the team marched into the tournament semifinals.
Zhang went nine-for-nine from the floor for 19 points, along with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three blocks - all in 13 minutes off the bench - helping China trounce Indonesia.
The 17-year-old kept the dominance in China's victories over New Zealand and Japan, dropping 36 points and 44 points respectively.
China topped its group to reach the tournament semifinals, and the wins also gifted China the ticket to the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup next year in the Czech Republic.
4. China announces basketball rosters for Paris Olympics
Chinese Basketball Association announced on Wednesday its team rosters for the basketball and 3x3 basketball tournaments of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The 16-player roster for women's basketball includes Wang Siyu, Li Yueru, Li Meng, Li Yuan, Zhang Ru, Wu Tongtong, Luo Xinyu, Jin Weina, Tang Ziting, Tang Yu, Sun Mengran, Huang Sijing, Han Xu, Yang Liwei, Yang Shuyu, and Pan Zhenqi.
For women's 3x3 basketball, the selected players are Wan Jiyuan, Wang Lili, Zhang Zhiting, Chen Yujie, Chen Mingling, and Huang Kun.
The men's 3x3 basketball team includes Zhu Yuanbo, Zhang Ning, Zhao Jiaren, Yan Peng, Guo Hanyu, and Lu Wenbo.
5. China drawn into toughest group of FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers
China head coach Branko Ivankovic conceded on June 27 that his side had been drawn into the toughest group in the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Zone qualifying tournament.
The 18 remaining Asian teams were divided into three groups at Thursday's drawing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur to vie for 8.5 berths for the World Cup finals.
China will battle it out with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Indonesia in Group C -- indisputably a group of death.
6. China's Anti-Doping Agency hits back at politicization of contamination case
The China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) on June 27 has firmly rejected claims by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that China ignored anti-doping rules.
CHINADA labeled these accusations as unfounded and politically driven, emphasizing their commitment to rigorous testing and the integrity of the global anti-doping system.■