Photo taken on Aug. 19, 2018 shows Xu Jiayu of China celebrating after winning the gold medal of Men's 100m Backstroke Final in the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
BEIJING, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Following are the top 10 Chinese athletes in 2018 as selected by Xinhua News Agency:
1. Wu Dajing (male, short track speed skating)
Wu, 24, won China's only gold medal from the men's 500m short track speed skating at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. He broke the world record twice en route to capturing the gold.
2. Su Bingtian (male, athletics)
Su, 29, clocked an Asian record-equalling 9.91 seconds in Madrid on June 14 and in Paris on June 30. At the Jakarta Asian Gaems, Su claimed gold with a game-record 9.92 seconds. He also lifted the Asian record in the men's 60m at 6.42 seconds at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships.
3. Xu Jiayu (male, swimming)
Xu, 23, reaped five gold medals from men's 50m, 100m and 200m backstrokes and two relay events at the Jakarta Asian Games. On November 11, Xu broke the 100m backstroke world record (shortcourse) in 48.88 seconds at the FINA Swimming World Cup in Tokyo.
4. Zhu Ting (female, volleyball)
Zhu, 24, spearheaded China's women's volleyball team to take gold at the Jakarta Asian Games and bronze at the World Championships. She won league champion with Vakifbank Istanbul and helped the Turkish club defend the CEV Champions League and Club World Championship titles. She was named the Most Valuable Player and the Best Spiker after Vakifbank Istanbul won their second straight Club World Championship.
Photo taken on April 26, 2018 shows Vakifbank's Chinese player Zhu Ting posing with the trophy after the fifth leg match of the 2017-2018 Turkish Women Volleyball League final series between Vakifbank and Eczacibasi in Istanbul, Turkey.
5. Ju Wenjun (female, chess)
Ju, 27, defeated Tan Zhongyi as a challenger to take the crown at the Women's World Chess Championship Match 2018 and defended her title in the Women's World Chess Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia in November.
6. Wang Shuang (female, soccer)
Wang, 23, was named AFC Women's Player of the Year in November, becoming the fourth Chinese player to win the award. At the AFC Women's Asian Cup, Wang scored four goals to help China win a bronze medal. She also spearheaded the Steel Roses to finish runners-up at the Jakarta Asian Games. Wang joined the Division 1 Feminine club Paris Saint-Germain in August.
7. Wu Lei (male, soccer)
Wu, 27, scored 27 Chinese Super League goals in 29 appearances to be named the league's Best Player and top scorer, breaking the record of single-season goals by a domestic player. He helped Shanghai SIPG win the domestic championship, breaking Guangzhou Evergrande's seven-season dominance.
8. Gong Lijiao (female, athletics)
Gong, 29, won her second straight gold in women's shotput at the Jakarta Asian Games. She also won two IAAF Diamond League champions with a remarkable 20.31m performance in Monaco. She triumphed in the Diamond League Finals to lift the Diamond Trophy.
9. Shi Tingmao (female, diving)
Shi, 27, has been the FINA Best Female Diver for four consecutive years. She won two gold medals in 3m springboard at the FINA Diving World Cup. At the 2018 Asian Games, Shi won the synchronized 3m springboard for the third straight time in the tournament, added with her 3m springboard title.
10. Xiao Ruoteng (male, gymnastics)
Xiao, 22, won gold medals in pommel horse and the team event at the 2018 Gymnastics World Championships in Doha, Qatar. He also finished as runner-up on tiebreak from all-around in the tournament. At the Jakarta Asian Games, Xiao bagged one gold from the team event, one silver from parallel bars and two bronze from all-around and the horizontal bar. Enditem
