China Sports Weekly (8.23-8.29)

BEIJING, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Here are the latest Chinese sports headlines from the past week: 1. China beats Qatar in FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers second round China cruised to an 83-57 away victory over Qatar in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on August 27, making a winning start to the second round. China advanced to the second round after finishing the first round with a 3-3 record, entering Group F in the lower half of the six-team standings. The two sides traded baskets and the lead changed hands several times early in the game. Then China gradually took control and produced a 12-0 run late in the first quarter to open up a gap. China went into halftime with a 47-36 lead. After the break, China continued to shoot at a higher percentage, with contributions coming from both inside and beyond the arc. The visitor remained firmly in control and steadily extended its advantage before sealing a commanding victory. China will host Lebanon on August 31. 2. China's Zhao rises to World No. 1 after reaching snooker Wuhan Open semis China's Zhao Xintong became the second Chinese player to reach the top of the world snooker ranking after beating Neil Robertson 5-1 on August 27, while fellow Chinese Chang Bingyu and Xiao Guodong also advanced at the World Snooker Wuhan Open. Zhao opened his quarterfinal against Robertson with breaks of 106 and 91 to take a 2-0 lead. Robertson capitalized on a mistake by Zhao to pull one frame back, but Zhao responded by winning the next three frames to seal the victory. With world No. 1 Judd Trump and No. 2 Robertson both eliminated on the same day, Zhao moved to the top of the live rankings. 3.China sweeps Vietnam aside to reach Asian Women's Volleyball Championship semis China continued its perfect run at the 2026 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship in Tianjin on August 28 as it dominated Vietnam in straight sets to set up a rematch against Iran in the semifinals. Holding an overall edge over Vietnam, China built a 12-9 lead before pulling away with a 7-0 surge and holding on to take the first set 25-15. Vietnam stepped up the pressure in the following set and forced China to call time-out twice in quick succession. Late in the set, China's poor reception allowed the away side to draw level at 21-21. But China kept its composure to pull off a 25-22 win. The third set presented a stark contrast, falling entirely into China's rhythm as the side quickly sealed a 25-13 win. 4. Liang/Wang claim China's only gold at BWF Worlds Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang secured China's sole gold medal at the BWF World Championships with a men's doubles title in New Delhi, India on August 23. Liang and Wang overcame Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik 21-17, 21-16 in the tournament's concluding match. The triumph added a major title to their growing resume and spared China from enduring a winless tournament. Even so, the late success could not offset China's earlier results in the final session, where the team collected silver medals in both mixed doubles and women's doubles. In the mixed doubles final, France's Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue outlasted top-seeded Chinese pair Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping 22-20, 19-21, 21-15 to capture their country's first-ever gold in the event. South Korea's Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee defeated China's defending champions Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning 21-15, 21-15 in the women's doubles final. 5. China falls to Australia in FIBA U18 Asia Cup final Australia beat China 89-79 in the final in Ahmedabad, India on August 23 to claim the FIBA U18 Asia Cup title. Zhang Yizhaojie led China with a game-high 20 points and Li Junxian and Zhang Yuchen contributed 15 and 13 respectively as the Chinese team recorded its best finish since winning the tournament in 2014. Australia raced to a 26-18 lead in the first quarter and improved to 38-27 with four minutes and 40 seconds left in the second. Then Zhang Yuchen had 10 points to boost a 15-2 burst and help China overtake the lead at 42-40 with one minute and a half remaining in the first half. The second half was also hotly contested as the two sides fought to a 62-all tie late in the third quarter, but Australia staged a 14-5 run from then on for a 78-67 cushion with six minutes and 20 seconds left in the game and never looked back.