BEIJING, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- As the sporting calendar draws to a close, Xinhua News Agency has selected the top 10 Chinese athletes for 2025:

This file photo taken on Aug. 31, 2025 shows Shi Yuqi celebrating during the awarding ceremony for the men's singles event at the BWF World Championships 2025 in Paris, France. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)

1. Shi Yuqi (male, badminton)

Shi claimed the men's singles title at the 2025 BWF World Championships, ending a decade-long title drought for China in the event. He also became the first Chinese player in the BWF World Tour era to sweep the four Super 1000 events. Shi helped China secure a fourth consecutive Sudirman Cup, and led Jiangsu to its sixth National Games men's team title. The 29-year-old was awarded the BWF Men's Singles Player of the Year.

This file photo taken on Nov. 16, 2025 shows gold medalist Gong Lijiao of Hebei posing during the awarding ceremony for the women's shot put of athletics at China's 15th National Games in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)

2. Gong Lijiao (female, athletics)

36-year-old Gong overcame lingering injuries to win the women's shot put title in her National Games farewell, achieving an unprecedented fifth consecutive National Games crown in athletics. Over a 25-year career, Gong has completed a career Grand Slam, winning titles at the Olympic Games, World Championships and National Games.

This file photo taken on Nov. 19, 2025 shows Liu Huanhua of Tianjin competing in snatch during the weightlifting men's 102kg final at China's 15th National Games in Dongguan, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Yang Chenguang)

3. Liu Huanhua (male, weightlifting)

Liu lifted a total of 414kg to win the men's 102kg title at the 15th National Games, beating the previous world record of 413kg that he had set and establishing a new national record. With the victory, he completed a full set of gold medals from the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, Asian Games and National Games, becoming the first Chinese male heavyweight lifter to achieve a career Grand Slam.

This file photo taken on May 25, 2025 shows gold medslist Sun Yingsha of China posing with the trophy during the awarding ceremony for the women's singles event at ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals Doha 2025 in Doha, Qatar. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

4. Sun Yingsha (female, table tennis)

Sun retained her women's singles titles at this year's World Championships and World Cup. Partnering with Wang Chuqin, she also completed a third consecutive mixed doubles world title. Meanwhile, Sun has remained as the year-end world No. 1 in women's singles for four consecutive years.

This file photo taken on July 31, 2025 shows Chen Yuxi of China posing with the medal after the awarding ceremony for the women's 10m platform final of diving at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. (Xinhua/Luo Yuan)

5. Chen Yuxi (female, diving)

Chen won three gold medals at the World Championships in women's 10m platform, women's synchronized 10m platform and mixed team. Her victory in the individual platform marked her fourth world title in the event, making her the first diver in history to achieve the feat. She also secured a fourth consecutive synchronized world title, second only to the five-title record held by compatriot Chen Ruolin. Chen added two gold medals in the women's individual and synchronized 10m platform at the National Games. She was named the 2025 Female Diving Athlete of the Year by World Aquatics.

This file photo taken on Dec. 6, 2025 shows Su Yiming of China reacting after the awarding ceremony for the men's big air at the FIS Snowboard World Cup in Beijing, China. (Xinhua/Tao Xiyi)

6. Su Yiming (male, snowboarding)

After recovering from injuries, Su returned in strong form during the Olympic season. He claimed back-to-back victories at the FIS Snowboard and Freestyle Ski Big Air World Cup, which earned him the overall Big Air World Cup title for the 2025-26 season.

This file photo taken on Oct. 25, 2025 shows Zou Jingyuan of China celebrating during the the Men's Parallel Bars Final at 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)

7. Zou Jingyuan (male, gymnastics)

Zou continued his dominance on the parallel bars, becoming the first four-time winner in the event at the World Championships before completing a third consecutive National Games title. At the 15th National Games, he also clinched gold medal in the all-around event, which consisted of pommel horse, rings and parallel bars.

This file photo taken on Nov. 10, 2025 shows Hu Kai of China reacting during the 10m air pistol men's final of shooting at the 2025 ISSF World Championship Rifle/Pistol in Cairo, Egypt. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

8. Hu Kai (male, shooting)

Hu collected nine gold medals on the international stage in 2025, including sweeping all men's 10m air pistol titles at the ISSF World Cup series from April to December. He also won the mixed team title at the World Championships and was named the ISSF Pistol Men's Athlete of the Year.

This file photo taken on July 28, 2025 shows gold medalist Qin Haiyang of China celebrating during the awarding ceremony for the men's 100m breaststroke final of swimming at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)

9. Qin Haiyang (male, swimming)

After setbacks at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Qin rebounded strongly at the World Championships, winning gold medals in the men's 100m and 200m breaststroke and a bronze in the 50m breaststroke, becoming the only Asian swimmer to claim gold at this year's championships.

This file photo taken on April 21, 2025 shows Chinese paralympic swimmer Jiang Yuyan posing with the Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award trophy during the 26th Laureus World Sports Awards gala in Madrid, Spain. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)

10. Jiang Yuyan (female, para swimming)

At China's 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games, Jiang won gold in all nine events she competed. She helped Zhejiang break the national record in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay (34-point classification) with a time of 4:08.06. In April, Jiang was named the winner of the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award. ■