Wu Dajing (L) of China celebrates victory after men's 500m final of short track speed skating at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena, Gangneung, South Korea on Feb. 27, 2018.
BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Following are the top 10 sports news items that broke in China in 2018 (in chronological order), as selected by Xinhua News Agency:
- On February 22, Wu Dajing triumphed in the men's 500m short track speed skating final in a new world record time, winning China's only gold medal at PyeongChang 2018, also the first-ever gold in Chinese men's ice sports at the Olympics.
China's Wang Haitao, Chen Jianxin, Liu Wei, Wang Meng and Zhang Qiang (L to R) celebrate on the awarding ceremony after a 6-5 win over Norway in the wheelchair curling final at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games at Gangneung, South Korea on March 17, 2018.
- On March 17, China claimed a 6-5 win over Norway in the wheelchair curling final at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games. It is the first-ever medal (and a gold one at that) for the Chinese delegation in the history of the Winter Paralympics.
- The Olympic Winter Games have now officially entered "Beijing time," with preparation work accelerating at an astounding pace. On August 8, Beijing 2022 launched a global competition to design the mascots for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games. On October 15, a solicitation for the proposals of the opening ceremony was officially launched.
- Su Bingtian clocked 9.91 seconds in Madrid on June 14 and in Paris on June 30, twice equaling the 100m Asian record. On July 1, Wei Yongli clocked 10.99s in women's 100, becoming the first Chinese woman to run under 11 seconds after 20 years.
- August 8 marked China's 10th National Fitness Day, a celebration of the expanded fitness options for the public and ever-greater acceptance of the country's national fitness efforts. Winter sports has also seen a big boost in the past year, especially in southern and eastern China.
- China topped the Asian Games medal table for 10 straight times as the country claimed 132 gold, 92 silver and 65 bronze medals at Jakarta from August 18 to September 2.
- On April 22, Liaoning won the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) title as the seventh champion in the league history. Shanghai SIPG was crowned on November 7 Chinese Super League champion for the first time and put an end to the seven-year dominance by Guangzhou Evergrande.
- Liu Guoliang, the former head coach of the Chinese table tennis team, was elected as the new president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association on December 1.
- China's first-ever Olympic gold medalist Xu Haifeng, volleyball coach Lang Ping, and former NBA star Yao Ming were among the 100 people selected to be awarded for their contributions to the country's reform and opening-up.
- On December 20, the Chinese Football Association introduced more exacting regulations from next season to dampen spending by clubs, including a salary cap. The CFA has also decided to set standards for national team players and announced a plan to raise the level of women's football.