Top 10 domestic and international sports news in 2021

Domestic

I. Xi Jinping inspected the preparations for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

From January 18 to 20, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspected Beijing and Hebei, presided over the report meeting on the preparations for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and delivered an important speech.

Guided by the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech, in 2021, the preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games have entered a critical period of full sprint, comprehensive readiness and decisive victory, adhering to the concept of "green, sharing, openness and integrity", and all preparations have been carried out in a solid and orderly manner. The torch "flying", the theme slogan "Together to the future" (pictured), the medal "One Heart" have been released, and the Flame of the Winter Olympics has been successfully collected in ancient Olympia, Greece. At the same time, through the various domestic and international test activities and test matches of "Meet in Beijing", the preparatory work has been comprehensively tested, and China has the confidence and determination to dedicate a "simple, safe and wonderful" Olympic event to the world.

2. The Chinese sports delegation to the Tokyo Olympic Games achieved good results

On August 8, the XXXII Summer Olympic Games concluded in Tokyo, Japan. The Chinese sports delegation achieved excellent results in 38 gold medals, 32 silver medals and 18 bronze medals, and ensured "zero occurrence" of doping and "zero infection" of the new crown pneumonia virus. China's athletes have the courage to challenge, surpass themselves, burst out of China's strength, show high morale, tenacious style, exquisite skills, vividly interpret the Olympic spirit and Chinese sports spirit, achieve a double harvest of sports achievements and spiritual civilization, and win honors for the motherland and the people (pictured).

3. The Chinese sports delegation has ranked first in the gold medal table and medal table of the Paralympic Games for five consecutive years

On September 5, the XVI Summer Paralympic Games concluded in Tokyo, Japan. The Chinese sports delegation won 96 gold medals, 60 silver medals and 51 bronze medals with a total of 207 medals, created 29 world records, and ranked first in the gold medal table and medal table for five consecutive Paralympic Games. China's disabled athletes have the courage to surpass and strive to be the first, which fully demonstrates the spirit of China's disabled athletes in the new era of challenging the limits, forging ahead and fighting tenaciously, and vividly reflects the vigorous development of China's disabled sports.

Fourth, the spirit of the women's volleyball team was included in the first batch of great spirits in the spiritual genealogy of Chinese communists

2021 is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and on the eve of the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Party Central Committee approved the first batch of great spirits sorted out by the Central Propaganda Department to be included in the spiritual genealogy of Chinese communists, including the spirit of the women's volleyball team. The Chinese women's volleyball team showed the spirit of the supremacy of the motherland, unity and cooperation, tenacious struggle and never giving up on the field. The spirit of the women's volleyball team represents the spirit of an era and shouts out the strongest voice of the era that strives for the rise of China.

The 14th National Games were successfully held in Shaanxi

From September 15 to 27, the 14th Games of the People's Republic of China were successfully held in Shaanxi. This is the first time that the National Games have entered the central and western regions, and more than 12,000 athletes from 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, Hong Kong, Macao Special Administrative Region and industry sports associations have participated in the competition (photo), and the competition is exciting, including 9 people and 1 team and 12 times exceeded 12 world records. Under the guidance of the theme of "The National Games for the Whole People, Walking together with One Heart", the opening of the National Games has achieved remarkable results, and the broad masses of people have shown their style and skills in the field of mass sports projects, which has greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of the whole people for fitness. On August 26, the Chinese government website issued the "Letter of the General Office of the State Council on Agreeing to Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to Host the 15th National Games in 2025", agreeing that Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao will host the 15th National Games, which is the first time that the National Games will be held in a joint manner.

Sixth, the "National Fitness Plan (2021-2025)" and the "14th Five-Year Plan" Sports Development Plan have been introduced

On August 3, the "National Fitness Plan (2021-2025)" issued by the State Council was released to the public, which made arrangements for promoting a higher level of development of national fitness in the coming period and better meeting the fitness and health needs of the people. On October 25, the State General Administration of Sport issued the "14th Five-Year Plan for Sports Development", focusing on the construction of a sports power, and comprehensively deployed the sports reform and development during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period to promote the high-quality development of sports.

Seventh, China's ice and snow athletes have achieved good results for the Beijing Winter Olympics, "driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports" fruitful results

On December 4, local time, in the Ski Jump World Cup In the American Steamboat Station competition, China's Gu Ailing won the championship in the women's freestyle skiing group, and Su Yiming won the championship in the snowboard men's group. This season, Wu Dajing, Ren Ziwei, Cai Xuetong, Ning Zhongyan, Gao Tingyu, Xu Mengtao, Geng Wenqiang and other Chinese ice and snow athletes also showed strong strength in the international arena and accumulated strength for the Beijing Winter Olympics. On December 19, the 8th National Mass Ice and Snow Season was launched in Hubei, focusing on the development results of China's "driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports" since the successful bid for the Winter Olympics.

8. Su Bingtian's 100-meter run has repeatedly achieved good results

On August 1, in the men's 100m semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics, Su Bingtian set a personal best of 9.83 seconds, setting a new Asian record and becoming the first Chinese athlete to stand on the Olympic men's 100m final track (pictured). On September 21, Su Bingtian, who participated in the National Games for the fourth time, ran 9.95 seconds in the men's 100 meters final of the Shaanxi National Games and won the championship, which was also the tenth time in Su Bingtian's career that he ran into 10 seconds.

9. The table tennis and featherweight project achieved another good result, and the gymnastics team played a turnaround battle

On November 29, local time, the Chinese table tennis team won four of the 5 individual championships at the World Table Tennis Championships held in Houston, USA, and the young players picked up the beams in the competition (pictured). On October 3, local time, the Chinese badminton team successfully defended its title at the Sudirman Cup World Badminton Mixed Team Championships held in Finland, followed by the Tangyou Cup World Badminton Team Championships held in Denmark, the women's team regained the Uber Cup after 5 years, and the men's team won the second place in the Thomas Cup. The Chinese gymnastics team won 5 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze at the gymnastics single world championships that ended on October 24, ranking first in the medal table, sweeping away the situation that there was no gold in the 2019 World Championships.

10. Young players perform well

On January 17, local time, 20-year-old Yan Bingtao won the snooker Masters (pictured) held in the United Kingdom, becoming the first post-00s champion in the history of snooker's "three major competitions" (World Championships, British Championships, masters). On December 5, local time, 24-year-old Zhao Xintong won the championship at the Snooker Championship held in the United Kingdom. On November 16, Beijing time, Formula One (F1) Alfa Romeo Team announced that 22-year-old Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu officially joined the team, becoming China's first World Formula 1 driver, and he will compete as a regular driver in the 2022 season.

International

1. The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games will be held

On July 23, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed for one year, opened at the New National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. This is the first time in the history of the modern Olympic Games that the Olympic Games have been postponed. The Tokyo Olympics have a total of 33 major events and 339 minor events. Baseball and softball became an official sport again after the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and skateboarding, surfing, rock climbing and karate were the first olympic games. The opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games and the vast majority of competitions were held without spectators. After 16 days of competition, the U.S., Chinese and Japanese sports delegations were each in the top three of the gold medal table.

Ii. The Olympic motto adds "more solidarity"

On July 20, the 138th Plenary Session of the International Olympic Committee was held in Tokyo, Japan. The plenum officially adopted the inclusion of "more solidarity" in the Olympic motto. At this point, the Olympic motto became "faster, higher, stronger – more united". At its 137th Plenary Session in March of the same year, the IOC unanimously adopted the Olympic Agenda 2020+5, a new roadmap for the reform of the Olympic Movement, aiming to better address the challenges of complex situations over the next five years. At the 137th Plenary Session, Thomas Bach was re-elected President of the International Olympic Committee for a term until 2025.

The 10th Olympic Summit said that the Beijing Winter Olympics will open a new era of global ice and snow sports

On December 11, the 10th Olympic Summit, hosted by IOC President Bach, was held online and the Communiqué of the 10th Olympic Summit was issued. The communiqué said that with the success of a series of test matches, the delegates were informed of the latest preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics. The Beijing Winter Olympics will usher in a new era of global ice and snow sports. The realization of the participation of 300 million Chinese in ice and snow sports will bring the participation of global ice and snow sports to a new height. The Communiqué also pointed out that the Olympic Summit firmly opposes any politicization of the Beijing Winter Olympics and sports, and stressed the need for the IOC, the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement as a whole to remain politically neutral.

The United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution of the Olympic Truce at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games

On 2 December, the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus the Olympic Truce resolution drafted by China and the International Olympic Committee, which was proposed by 173 Member States. The resolution calls on all parties to resolve the international conflict through peaceful and diplomatic means and urges countries to observe the Olympic Truce 7 days before the opening of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and 7 days after the conclusion of the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games. In particular, the resolution calls for recognition of the role of sport in building capacity to respond globally to the impact of the pandemic, and emphasizes that the Beijing Winter Olympics will be an opportunity to demonstrate the valuable value of human solidarity, resilience and international cooperation.

Fifth, italy won the 2020 European Championship

On July 11, local time, in the final of the 2020 European Football Championship in London, England, Italy and England fought a 1:1 draw in 120 minutes, and through the penalty shootout, Italy finally won 4:3, which was also the second time in the history of Italy to win the European Championship.

Brisbane became the host city of the 2032 Olympic Games

On 21 July, the 138th Plenary Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) selected the venue for the 2032 Olympic Games. As the only candidate city for the Olympic Games, Brisbane, Australia, was awarded the right to host the Games, becoming the third Australian city to host the Summer Olympics after Melbourne and Sydney.

7. Messi won the Ballon d'Or trophy for the seventh time

On November 29, the 2021 Ballon d'Or d'Or ceremony, hosted by the magazine Football France, was held in Paris, where Argentine star Lionel Messi won the award for the seventh time in record, with Polish star Lewandowski in second place.

Djokovic won his twentieth tennis Grand Slam title

On July 11, local time, in the men's singles final of the 2021 Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, England, Serbia's Djokovic defeated Italy's Berrettini 3:1 to achieve a three-game Wimbledon title (pictured). It also brought his total number of Grand Slam titles to 20, equaling the Open-era Grand Slam singles record held by Swiss star Federer and Spain's Nadal.

IX. Verstappen won the first F1 individual annual championship

On December 12, local time, in the main race of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix of the Formula One World Championship (F1), Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Verstappen pushed Mercedes' British driver Hamilton to win the race, and won the individual driver's championship of the year this season, and is also the thirty-fourth world champion in F1 history.

10. The men's and women's 400-meter hurdles world records were set at the Olympic Games

Norway's Valholm won the gold medal in the men's 400m hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics in 45.94 seconds on August 3, while breaking his world record of 46.70 seconds set in July. A day later, American McLaughlin won the Olympic women's 400m hurdles with a time of 51.46 seconds, setting a new world record of 51.90 seconds set by herself in June.

Image source: Xinhua News Agency

People's Daily (30 December 2021, 13th edition)