China Sports Weekly (5.25-5.31)
1. Sun defends singles crown at table tennis worlds
World No. 1 Sun Yingsha defeated second-ranked Wang Manyu 4-3 to retain her women's singles title at the World Table Tennis Championships on May 25, adding to the mixed doubles crown she had claimed earlier in the tournament.
Roared on by a lively crowd, Sun prevailed over the 2021 world champion in a thrilling final, winning 11-6, 12-10, 8-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-13, 11-7 in 88 minutes.
Sun and her mixed doubles partner Wang Chuqin combined for three gold medals to help China sweep four out of five at the event.
Wang won his first world championships singles title after defeating World Cup champion Hugo Calderano of Brazil 12-10, 11-3, 4-11, 11-2, 11-7, while Wang Manyu and Kuai Man were crowned in the women's doubles.
2. Wuhan claims historic AFC Women's Champions League title
Wuhan Jiangda made history in China and Asia by defeating Melbourne City to win the first ever AFC Women's Champions League title.
Wuhan's path to glory was anything but smooth. Just five days after winning their fifth consecutive Chinese Super League title, they began their AFC campaign. Their group-stage performance was shaky, and they just scraped through into the knockout stages after two defeats and just one win.
But in the knockout rounds, the team was transformed. They edged past Japanese powerhouse Urawa Red Diamonds in a dramatic penalty shootout, then dispatched Ho Chi Minh City in the semis. Facing top-tier opponents from Japan, Vietnam and Australia, Wuhan's squad played 330 minutes across three matches, with two of them ending with penalties.
3. China caps off Malaysia Masters with titles in four categories
Chinese shuttlers dominated the finals of the 2025 Malaysia Masters, taking titles in four categories on May 25.
Men's singles shuttler Li Shifeng overpowered Srikanth Kidambi of India 21-11, 21-9 at the Axiata Arena.
In the women's singles, Wang Zhiyi bested compatriot Han Yue 13-21, 21-13, 21-18 in a hard-fought battle lasting over an hour.
The women's doubles final was an all-Chinese affair, with Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning outplaying Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian 21-17, 21-18.
In another battle between compatriots, Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping overcame Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin 21-17, 14-21, 21-16 in the mixed doubles final.
4. China's Zheng advances to last 16 at French Open
Paris Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China continued her strong run at the French Open on May 30, advancing to the women's singles round of 16 with a straight-sets win over 18-year-old Canadian qualifier Victoria Mboko.
The eighth seed needed just under 90 minutes to beat Mboko 6-3, 6-4 in their first career meeting, marking her second appearance in the last 16 at Roland Garros after her breakthrough run in 2022.
Zheng will next face Liudmila Samsonova of Russia as she looks to reach her first French Open quarterfinal.
5. Yang Yang re-elected WADA vice president
China's former Winter Olympic champion Yang Yang has been re-elected World Anti-Doping Agency vice president, together with president Witold Banka, for a third and final term at a virtual Foundation Board meeting on May 29.
Yang and Banka were first elected at the 2019 World Conference on Doping in Sport. Their new three-year term will run from January 1, 2026 until December 31, 2028.
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