BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Following are the top 10 sports news items that broke in China in 2018, as selected by Xinhua News Agency (in chronological order):

- On February 22, Wu Dajing struck gold in the men's 500m short track speed skating final at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, setting a new world record at 39.584 seconds.

It was the only gold medal of the Chinese delegation at PyeongChang 2018 and also the first-ever gold medal in Chinese men's ice sports at the Olympics.

- On March 17, China claimed gold with a narrow 6-5 win over Norway in the final in wheelchair curling at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games. It is the first-ever medal (and a gold one at that) for the Chinese delegation in the history of the Winter Paralympic Games.

- The Olympic Winter Games have now officially entered "Beijing time," with preparation work accelerating at an astounding pace.

On August 8, Beijing 2022 launched a global competition to design the mascots for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. On October 15, a solicitation for the proposals of the opening ceremony of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games was officially launched.

- The World Cup 2018, held from June 14 to July 15 in Russia, was officially sponsored by seven Chinese enterprises out of 17 total. Nine Chinese Super League players competed in the Russia World Cup.

- Chinese star sprinter Su Bingtian clocked 9.91 seconds at the IAAF World Challenge Meeting Madrid 2018 on June 14 and at the Paris leg of the 2018 IAAF Diamond League on June 30, twice equaling the 100m Asian record.

Xie Zhenye dashed to a 9.97-second winning mark in the men's 100 at the Meeting de Montreuil in Paris and has become the second Chinese to dip under the 10-second barrier. On July 1, Wei Yongli clocked 10.99s in women's 100, becoming the first Chinese woman to run under 11 seconds after 20 years.

- August 8 marked China's 10th National Fitness Day, a celebration of the expanded fitness options for the public and ever-greater acceptance of the country's national fitness efforts. When partial regional results tallied for 2018, there were more than 1,000 running events of various kinds with more than 5.5 million attendees across China.

Winter sports have also seen a big boost in the past year, especially in southern and eastern China, where climate considerations meant that winter sports were not previously popular. A national winter sports festival, launched in 2014, was hosted in south China's metropolis of Shanghai for the first time.

- China topped the medal table for 10 consecutive times with an impressive 132 gold, 92 silver and 65 bronze medals at the Jakarta Asian Games 2018 held from August 18 to September 2.

E-sports made its debut in the Asiad as a demonstration event. The Chinese team won two titles in AOV (Arena of Valor) and League of Legends.

- On April 22, Liaoning won the Chinese Basketball Association title for the first time in its 23-year history, becoming the seventh champion team in the CBA League history.

- On November 7, Shanghai SIPG was crowned Chinese Super League champion after a 2-1 win over Beijing Renhe. It was the club's maiden CSL trophy and put an end to the seven-year title dominance of Guangzhou Evergrande.

- Liu Guoliang, the former head coach of table tennis team of China, was elected as the new president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) on December 1.

The new CTTA will take as its priority the preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the promotion of the sport's professionalism, industrialization and globalization.

- Three Chinese sports legends: Xu Haifeng, Lang Ping, and Yao Ming were among the 100 people selected to be awarded for their contributions to the country's reform and opening-up.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up. The awarded candidates come from a wide range of professions, including scientists, economists, workers, state firm managers, and private entrepreneurs.