China Sports Weekly (1.11-1.17)

BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Here are the latest Chinese sports headlines from the past week:

1. China reaches knockout stage for first time in AFC U23 Asian Cup

China reached the knockout stage of the AFC U23 Asian Cup for the first time after drawing 0-0 with Thailand in its final Group D match here on January 14.

China finished second in the group with one win and two draws. It started the campaign with a 0-0 draw against Iraq before beating Australia 1-0. Australia topped the group after coming from behind to beat Iraq 2-1.

China will face Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals on Saturday night in Jeddah in western Saudi Arabia.

2. Chinese Go master Nie passes away at 73

Chinese Go master Nie Weiping died at the age of 73 in Beijing on Wednesday night, the Chinese Weiqi (Go) Association announced on Thursday.

Born on August 17, 1952, Nie rose to fame in the Go world after leading China to victories at the China-Japan Go Challenge Series in the 1980s, beating several top Japanese players.

In 1988, he was honored as "Go Master" by then-State Physical Culture and Sports Commission of China, the predecessor organization of China's State General Administration of Sport. He was also the honorary president of the Chinese Weiqi Association.

3. China's Li claims aerials World Cup victories in Lake Placid

China's Li Xinpeng and Kaila Kuhn of the United States both secured their first World Cup wins of the season on January 12 at the freestyle skiing aerials event in Lake Placid.

In the men's final, Li delivered a near-flawless performance in the second finals round, executing a Back Full-double Full-Double Full with a difficulty rating of 5.100 to earn 137.19 points and clinch the gold.

Despite finishing second here, China's reigning Olympic champion Xu Mengtao secured the women's Crystal Globe as the overall season champion. The men's overall title went to China's Sun Jiaxu, with compatriots Li Tianma and Qi Guangpu rounding out the top three.

4. Qin Zhijian appointed China's chief table tennis coach

The Chinese Table Tennis Association on January 11 announced its national team coaching lineup for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic cycle, appointing Qin Zhijian as chief coach and Xiao Zhan as deputy chief coach.

Qin, a current CTTA vice president, previously served as head coach of China's men's team during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic cycle. Under his leadership, China won the men's singles and team gold medals at the Tokyo Games, the men's singles and doubles titles at the 2019 world championships in Budapest, the men's singles crown at the 2021 worlds in Houston, and the men's team title at the 2022 World Team Championships in Chengdu.

5. ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships to be staged in Beijing

The 2026 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships will be held from January 22 to 25 at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, which marks the last ISU figure skating event scheduled ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

More than 100 skaters will gather at the National Indoor Stadium, including elite skaters South Korea's Cha Jun-hwan, Mexican Donovan Carrillo and Australian pair Holly Harris/Jason Chan.

Beijing Winter Olympic champion Sui Wenjing/Han Cong of China will take part in the pairs event together with their teammates Zhang Jiaxuan/Huang Yihang.■