BEIJING, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- As the sporting calendar draws to a close, Xinhua News Agency has selected the top 10 Chinese athletes/teams for 2024:
1. Ma Long (male, table tennis)
Ma helped China secure the table tennis men's team gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, becoming China's most decorated Olympian with six gold medals. He was also a flagbearer of the Chinese delegation at the Games' opening ceremony. In late October, Ma received the Outstanding Sporting Career Award from the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in recognition of his remarkable achievements.
2. Pan Zhanle (male, swimming)
At the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Pan won four gold medals and broke the men's 100m freestyle world record in China's 4x100m freestyle relay victory. At the Paris Olympics, Pan improved his own world record to 46.40 seconds for the 100m freestyle gold, and anchored China to victory in the men's 4x100m medley relay final.
3. Zheng Qinwen (female, tennis)
Zheng became the first Asian player to win an Olympic singles gold at the Paris Olympics. She finished runner-up at the Australian Open for her best Grand Slam result. The 22-year-old was also a finalist at the WTA Wuhan Open and WTA Finals. In the WTA 2024 Fan Awards, Zheng became the winner of Fan Favorite Singles and WTA 250 Best Moment.
4. China rhythmic gymnastics team
China's rhythmic gymnastics team clinched its first-ever Olympic gold medal with 69.800 points in the group all-around final at the Paris Olympics.
5. Deng Yawen (female, BMX)
Deng won China's first BMX Olympic gold in the women's park event with 92.60 points at the Paris Olympics.
6. Quan Hongchan (female, diving)
At the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships, Quan captured the women's 10m platform crown and clinched the synchronized gold along with Chen Yuxi. The 17-year-old repeated her success in both events at the Paris Olympics, becoming the youngest three-time gold medalist from China.
7. Yang Jiayu (female, athletics)
At the Paris Olympics, Yang won the women's 20km race walk in one hour, 25 minutes and 54 seconds, adding an Olympic gold to her titles at the World Championships, Asian Games and China's National Games, and the event's world record.
8. Sheng Lihao (male, shooting)
Sheng captured the first gold medal of the Paris Olympics in the 10m air rifle mixed team event with Huang Yuting, before dominating the individual contest with a new Olympic record of 252.2 points.
9. Jiang Yuyan (female, para swimming)
Jiang secured seven gold medals, also setting two world records and three Paralympic records in para swimming at Paris 2024. She was also a flagbearer of the Chinese delegation at the Games' closing ceremony.
10. Deng Zhixuan (female, martial arts)
At the 4th World Taijiquan Championships, then 14-year-old Deng won two gold medals in the women's Simplified 32 Movements Taijijian and Wu Style Taijiquan (46 Movements), making her the youngest Chinese athlete to claim two individual titles in a single World Championships. ■