China Sports Weekly (6.15-6.21)

BEIJING, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Here are the latest Chinese sports headlines from the past week:

1. Chinese climber Pan Yufei makes history with victory in Bern

Pan Yufei became the first Chinese climber to win the men's Boulder event at the International Federation of Sport Climbing World Cup, edging out France's Mejdi Schalck by 0.1 points on June 15.

Pan, whose previous best finish was fifth in Prague, the Czech Republic, on June 7, overtook Schalck in the final run on M4, topping out on his second attempt to score 84.2 points.

Schalck had been in control for most of the final, topping M1, M2 and M3, but failed on M4 and finished with 84.1 points.

Pan finished 12th at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games but did not qualify for the final of the men's combined event, which includes both Boulder and Lead climbing.

2. Olympic champion Zheng defeated in semifinals at Queen's club

China's Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen ended her journey at the Queen's Club Championships as the world No. 5 lost to American Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the women's singles semifinals here on June 14.

The 22-year-old Zheng was obviously not in her best form as she not only struggled in her first serves but also made many unforced errors. Although she managed to level the match while world No. 15 Anisimova also struggled in her own serving games in the second set, the top seed of the WTA 500 grass-court event was not good enough to outplay Anisimova.

As she didn't receive any new pair of grass-court shoes from her sponsor in time, Zheng had to wear the pair which she felt too slippery during the last match again.

Zheng reached the semifinals on grass for the first time in her career after knocking out home sensation Emma Raducanu 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals on June 13.

3. China's Wang Xinyu powers into semifinals at Berlin Open

China's Wang Xinyu continued her grass-court surge on June 20, beating world No. 10 Paula Badosa to reach the WTA 500 Berlin Open semifinals.

Wang, 23, swept the opening set 6-1 before Badosa retired early in the second.

Meeting Badosa for the second time this year, after having lost to the Spaniard in straight sets at the Australian Open, Wang served with precision, minimized errors, and broke her opponent three times to race through the first set.

Early in the second, as Wang surged to a 40-0 lead in the opening game, Badosa signaled her retirement due to injury.

After navigating two rounds of qualifying, including a statement win over two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur, Wang ousted world No. 16 Daria Kasatkina in the first round, then stunned newly crowned French Open champion and world No. 2 Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-3 for her first career victory against a top-two player.

4. Chengdu 2025 World Games medal design unveiled

The design of the medals for the 12th World Games, which will be held in Chengdu in August, was unveiled on June 19.

The medal is named "Zhuguang," which literally translates to "bamboo light," and also sounds like "chasing the light" in Chinese.

Inspired by local culture and rooted in a philosophy of sharing, the medal design features elements including the Golden Sun Bird motif and the iconic panda, symbols closely associated with Chengdu.

The medal also includes a detachable pin at its center, which athletes can gift to someone significant, carrying the spirit of gratitude and connection.

5. China loses to Turkey to wrap up VNL Xi'an leg

Host China lost to Turkey 3-0 at the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League Xi'an leg on June 15, wrapping up the opening leg with two wins and two defeats.

After conceding its opener to Japan, China bounced back with back-to-back victories over Serbia and the Netherlands. Turkey, meanwhile, had suffered three consecutive losses before the encounter with China.

Turkey came out strong in the first set, taking advantage of powerful attacking to win 25-22. China raced to a 5-2 lead in the second set, but Turkey's superior blocking shut down China's attack to win the second set 25-21.

China once again started fast in the third set, surging into a 5-2 lead, but Turkey countered with a four-point run to flip the score. In the final stages, Turkey pulled away with a decisive 6-2 run to close out the match 25-20, registering its first win of the season.

Despite the loss, China head coach Vital Heynen expressed satisfaction with his team's performance, especially with key players like Zhang Jingyin and Wang Jingyi sidelined with injury. "We have to be realistic that we came here without two core players. We made one good step already, winning two matches in the tournament," he said.

According to the schedule, China will next compete in the Chicago leg in late June, followed by the Gdansk leg in mid-July.