Chinese dancers sweep men's, women's breaking titles at 2025 World Games

China claimed gold medals in both the men's and women's breaking finals at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on Sunday.

On the final day of competition, Qi Xiangyu (B-Boy Lithe-ing) impressed the judges with a variety of headspins and acrobatic moves in the championship contest. Qi put the disappointment of not reaching last summer's Olympic final in Paris behind him with a skilled performance against Japan's Isshin Hishikawa (B-Boy Issin).

The 20-year-old Qi, who earned bronze at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, broke out his signature move in the first round, en route to defeating Hishikawa 2-1. The triumph marked the first title for a Chinese B-Boy at a multi-sports event.

In the women's final, Guo Pu (B-Girl Royal) swept all three rounds against Chinese compatriot Liu Qingyi (B-Girl 671) to claim top honors. The 16-year-old prodigy has been one of the hottest names in women's breaking over the past half-year.

Earlier this season, Guo rose to prominence by winning the FISE World Series in Montpellier, France, and went on to capture back-to-back titles at the Asian Youth Championships and Asian Championships.

Zhang Hao claimed China's second gold medal in roller sports at the World Games, winning the men's classic slalom of inline freestyle skating, before compatriot Zhu Siyi topped the women's final to clinch the host nation's third title in the discipline.

The classic slalom requires athletes to perform a series of technical and artistic moves choreographed to music while navigating three rows of cones.

The 20-year-old Zhang, fresh off a victory in the men's speed slalom one day earlier, collected his second crown in Chengdu, while Italy's Valerio Degli Agostini took silver and China's Wang Yuxuan earned bronze.

In the women's classic slalom, Zhu topped the podium ahead of compatriot Liu Jiaxin, while Spain's Laura Oria Albelda rounded out the podium with bronze.

China finished the roller sports events with three gold, three silver, and three bronze medals from inline freestyle skating, inline hockey, and speed skating.