Chinese athletes and coaches lauded for success in 2018

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01:28

Nearly 900 athletes and coaches were recognized for their performances in 2018 during the Chinese General Administration of Sport's year-end meeting in Beijing on Friday.

Leading the 890 recipients of awards was short track speed-skater Wu Dajing, who won gold in the men's 500-meter event at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, along with the national short track speed skating team's head coach Li Yan.

The top honors were shared by 219 athletes and 146 coaches, while 361 athletes and 164 coaches were given first-level medals. Fourteen athletes, including Wu, and seven coaches led by women's volleyball icon Lang Ping received their awards at the meeting.

Wu Dajing celebrates winning the men's 500m short track speed skating final at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, February 22, 2018. /VCG Photo

"I feel very excited about this recognition for us from the General Administration of Sports. I will now work hard and keep going forward," Wu said.

"I think this is a top honor for our badminton coaches," said China's badminton singles coach Xia Xuanze. "This is a big encouragement for us to receive such a top honor as coaches, as it gives us motivation for our upcoming top-level competitions

"It is both a responsibility and an incentive for our coaches and players to do better at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics."

Lang Ping smiles during the 2018 Asian Games women's volleyball final between China and Thailand in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 1, 2018. /VCG Photo

Lang Ping, the national women's volleyball team's head coach, said she was "quite happy to represent the Chinese women's volleyball team in receiving this sporting honor" that showed the strong support for her players.

Lang said the team should "be better prepared for the Tokyo Olympics, which is not far off."

"We still have a lot of problems to solve and we should make full use of less than two year's time left for the 2020 Olympic Summer Games for our fight for the gold," she added.