BEIJING, Dec. 26-- As the sporting year draws to a close, here are Xinhua News Agency's top 10 Chinese athletes of 2019: 1. China's women's volleyball team China's women's volleyball team produced a perfect run of 11 victories at the 13th FIVB Women's World Cup from September 14 to 29, winning the tournament for the fifth time. It was also the Chinese team's 10th major international title, including the Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup. 2. Sui Wenjing (female, figure skating)/Han Cong (male, figure skating) Sui, 24, and Han, 27, claimed their second world title at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan in March. The Chinese pair also triumphed at the Cup of China and NHK Trophy before being crowned for the first time at the season-ending ISU Grand Prix finals in December. 3. Gong Lijiao (female, track and field) Gong, 30, retained her shot put world title at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, following her Diamond League Final victory in Zurich. 4. Liu Shiwen (female, table tennis) Liu beat teammate Chen Meng en route to her first World Championships singles title in Budapest in April. The 28-year-old also won a record fifth ITTF Women's World Cup crown after seeing off compatriot Zhu Yuling in October. Liu also partnered Xu Xin to claim the mixed doubles title at the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, and was named the 2019 ITTF Female Table Tennis Star of the Year. |