China reaps 13 golds to stay atop Asian Youth Games medal table

MANAMA -- Team China continued its strong performance at the 3rd Asian Youth Games in Bahrain on Saturday, excelling in athletics, golf and taekwondo. Chinese athletes won 13 golds and four silvers, securing multiple 1-2 finishes and maintaining their position at the top of the medal table.

Athletics once again proved to be China's medal stronghold. At the Bahrain National Stadium, Chinese teenagers won eight gold and two silver medals, demonstrating depth and balance across key Olympic events including sprints, hurdles, middle-distance running, throws, and jumps.

On the track, China's young runners delivered strong performances. Wu Mingwei won the boys' 400m hurdles, Chen Xinxuan took gold in the girls' 200m, and Song Jinping claimed the girls' 800m title. Xu Chengwei secured another victory by winning the boys' 2,000m steeplechase.

China's field athletes performed strongly. Zhou Ruhan won the girls' long jump with a leap of 5.88 meters. The boys' long jump final saw a Chinese one-two, with Yuan Lei claiming gold at 7.51m and Wang Pengbo taking silver at 7.37m.

In the girls' hammer throw, Wang Yiru produced 68.59m to win gold, followed by teammate Gao Yujia, who took silver with 63.08m. In the boys' shot put, Jiang Haozheng delivered a winning mark of 18.36m.

China also delivered a landmark sweep in golf at the Royal Golf Club, winning all four gold medals on offer and adding one silver.

China's golf coach Chi Yibing admitted the gold medal sweep "went beyond expectation".

"We came here determined to win," Chi said. "But capturing every title - boys' individual, girls' individual, boys' team, and girls' team - is more than we expected."

Chi added that several of the Chinese players are already approaching professional standards.

"What they will need next is the physical stamina, the engine, to handle a demanding schedule, and the mental focus to stay sharp round after round. It is this that will determine how far they can go," he added.

Members of the girls' team described the win as a shared effort built on trust.

"If someone didn't have their best round, the first thing they heard wasn't blame," said Cui Jinghan. "It was, 'It's fine. You'll bring it back tomorrow. We believe in you.' After the second round, we already felt we had the title in our hands - because we trusted each other that much."

In taekwondo, China added one gold and one silver. Li Mixue won the girls' -49kg title. In the girls' -55kg final, Xu Wanlin took silver after a 2-0 loss to her opponent from Uzbekistan.

After Saturday's competitions, China led the overall medal standings with 26 gold, 17 silver and 7 bronze medals. Uzbekistan and Iran sat second and third respectively.