The first Hong Kong-based gold medal of China's 15th National Games was decided at Victoria Park on Saturday evening, as Fujian pair Xue Chen and Zeng Jinjin claimed victory in the women's beach volleyball final with a 2-1 win over Nanjing's Yan Xu and Zhou Mingli.
Xue and Zeng hit the ground running in the opening set, securing a 21-15 win to take an early lead. Undeterred, the Nanjing pair quickly adjusted their tactics and rallied back with a dominant 21-13 performance to level the match and force a decider.
The final set saw intense back-and-forth action, with spectacular spikes and crucial saves thrilling the crowd. Fujian held their nerve to seal a 15-9 victory, clinching the first gold among the eight National Games events staged in Hong Kong.
This is Zeng's third National Games and Xue's sixth. The two have been training together for the past year and had to overcome injuries in order to compete in the event.
Xue described the competition level as "not easy to predict."
"Once teams reach the semifinals, in fact, starting from the quarterfinals, any outcome is possible. Usually, you might think there is a clear gap between strong and weak teams, but at the National Games, it isn't easy to predict. Strong teams carry a lot of pressure, and performing under that pressure can affect their play, meaning they may struggle against weaker teams," she said.
In the bronze medal match, Xinjiang's Wang Jingzhe and Xia Xinyi swept Jiangsu's Yuan Lyuwen and Zhu Lingdi in straight sets to claim third place.
Fujian pair clinches beach volleyball gold at 15th National Games
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' separatist moves to stoke cross-Strait hostility are unpopular and doomed to fail, said Zhang Han, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing on Wednesday.
Zhang made the comments at a regular press conference in response to a media query about recent inappropriate remarks by Chiu Chui-cheng, head of the so-called "mainland affairs council", regarding the Chinese mainland's policy of advancing high-quality cross-Strait integrated development".
"Our fellow Taiwan compatriots are our kith and kin. Over the years, acting on the principle that 'people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are all of the same family', we have actively promoted cross-Strait economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation, deepened the integrated development across various fields, and made steady progress in implementing policies that provide equal treatment to Taiwan compatriots. These efforts have continuously yielded new results, fully demonstrating our goodwill in seeking benefits for Taiwan compatriots and our sincerity in advancing the peaceful and integrated development of cross-Strait relations. Such endeavors have been met with strong support and wide acclaim from our Taiwan compatriots. Driven by its separatist pursuit of 'Taiwan secession', the DPP authorities are deeply fearful of closer ties between people across the Strait. They have deliberately fanned the flames of confrontation and antagonism, while resorting to slander and obstruction against anything that helps develop cross-Strait relations and benefits people on both sides. Such moves are deeply unpopular and are bound to fail," she said.
DPP's moves to stoke cross-Strait hostility unpopular, doomed to fail: spokeswoman
