National Games roundup: Chen wins 10m platform, Hou bags third straight weightlifting title

A busy Monday at the 15th National Games delivered 33 golds across 22 events.

Diving provided some big moments at the Guangdong Olympic Centre. Shanghai's Chen Yuxi took the women's 10m platform crown with 412.30 points despite suffering with a fever. The 20‑year‑old recovered from a shaky preliminary showing to produce an 81.60 on a 407C in the final and hold off Sichuan's world champion Lu Wei, who finished 28.30 points adrift. Shandong's Liu Zihan completed the podium.

In the men's 3m springboard, Olympic double gold medallist Wang Zongyuan dominated a field that included four world champions. The 24‑year‑old opened with a high‑scoring 88.40 on his 407C, kept the advantage throughout and sealed the title with a near‑flawless 106.40 final dive, finishing on 549.85, his first National Games gold in the event. Hubei's Zheng Jiuyuan and Guangdong's He Chao took silver and bronze.

The pool in Shenzhen offered a generational headline: 18‑year‑old Zhang Zhanshuo of Shandong won the men's 400m freestyle in 3:42.82, lowering his own junior world record in dramatic fashion. He beat a field that included Asian record‑holder Sun Yang and 2024 Olympic champion Pan Zhanle; Xu Haibo of Hubei took silver and Zhejiang's Fei Liwei bronze. Pan was fifth and Sun sixth.

In the women's 400m free, Hebei's Li Bingjie reclaimed the title in 4:01.17, repeating her 2017 success, with Hubei's Yang Peiqi 0.73 seconds back for silver and 10km marathon champion Liu Yaxin adding a bronze for Zhejiang. Relays also favoured the established powers: Shandong, led by Yang Junxuan, won the women's 4x100m freestyle relay, while Zhejiang, anchored by Wang Shun and Pan Zhanle, took the men's equivalent.

Weightlifting saw a familiar face atop the podium: Paris Olympic champion Hou Zhihui produced a 203kg total to win the women's 49kg for Hunan, her third straight National Games title.

And in Hong Kong SAR, Jiangsu stretched a domestic dynasty in men's handball, edging Anhui 29–26 to claim a fifth consecutive crown.