China's top 10 athletes in 2010

2010-12-27 06:30:36 GMT2010-12-27 14:30:36 (Beijing Time) Xinhua English

BEIJING, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Following are China's top 10 athletes for the year of 2010 selected by Xinhua News Agency:

1. Liu Xiang (male, track and field)

Olympic gold medalist and world champion Liu Xiang is seen at the opening ceremony of 2010 China Sports Tourism Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Dec. 18, 2010. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

The 27-year-old Liu clocked 13.09 seconds to win the Asian Games men's 110m hurdles for the third time. The result in Guangzhou was his best since he made a comeback from injuries in 2009.

2. Lao Yi (male, track and field)

Chinese sprinter Lao Yi celebrates after he surprisingly won the 100m gold medal in the Asia Games in Guangzhou on Monday evening. (Xinhua Photo)

The 25-year-old sprinter claimed the men's 100m title at the Guangzhou Asiad, becoming the first Chinese runner to win the event at the Asian Games.

3. Sun Yang (male, swimming)

Sun Yang File Photo

The 19-year-old swimmer broke Asian record to rule the men's 1,500m freestyle at the Guangzhou Asiad, creating world's best record in 2010 season. He also won gold in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay and silver in the men's 200m and 400m freestyle at the Asiad.

4. Wang Meng (female, short track speed skating)

Wang Meng (Xinhua Photo)

The 25-year-old skater collected three golds at the Vancouver Winter OLympic Games, leading the Chinese team to win all the four golds from the women's short track speed skating. She was the first Chinese athlete to defend a champion at the Winter Olympics.

5. Zhou Suhong (female, volleyball)

Zhou Suhong (Source: CCTV.com)

The 31-year-old volleyballer delivered a strong comeback at the Guangzhou Asiad by leading the Chinese team to the top spot on the podium.

6. Lin Dan (male, badminton)

Lin Dan (Xinhua Photo)

The 27-year-old "Super Dan" took home two Asiad golds in Guangzhou, finishing his season as the first badminton player in the world to have swept all the major international badminton competitions.

7. Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo (figure skating)

China's Shen Xue (top)/Zhao Hongbo compete for the pairs free skating of Figure Skating at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Pacific Coliseum stadium, Canada, Feb. 15, 2010. Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo won the gold medal of the event with a total of 216.57 points. (Xinhua/Chen Xiaowei)

The pair scored 216.57 points to win China's first ever Winter Olympic gold medal of figure skating in 30 years in Vancouver.

8. Li Na (female, tennis)

Li Na(Xinhua/Chen Haitong)

The 28-year-old Li became the first Chinese tennis player to enter WTA world top 10 rankings in February. She also led the Chinese team to win back the team title after 24 years at the Guangzhou Asiad.

9. Jiang Wenwen and Jiang Tingting (female, synchronized swimming)

Jiang Wenwen and Jiang Tingting of China compete during the duet free routine preliminary at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games synchronized swimming event in Beijing, China, Aug. 19, 2008. Jiang Wenwen and Jiang Tingting ranked the fourth in preliminary and advanced to the final. (Photo:english.peopledaily.com.cn)

The 24-year-old twins won the China's first synchronized swimming title at the World Cup. They also won at the Guangzhou Asiad.

10. Hou Yifan (female, chess)

Hou Yifan (front), a 16-year-old Chinese girl participates in the tournament. [Xinhua Photo]

The 16-year-old Hou won the women's chess World Championship in Turkey in December, becoming the 13th and the youngest world champion in the history of the women's chess. She also won China's first chess gold at the Guangzhou Asiad.