Let the games begin

Olympic stars

The main attractions of the National Games are China's recently returned Tokyo 2020 Olympians. After almost a month in medical quarantine, most have now arrived in Xi'an primed for fresh challenges.

For some, winning a national title is even harder than winning Olympic gold.

On Sunday, for instance, three Olympic diving champions from Tokyo－Quan Hongchan, Zhang Jiaqi and Chen Yuxi－battled it out for the women's 10-meter platform title.

Fourteen-year-old Quan, representing Guangdong province, again showed her dominance in the discipline to follow up her Tokyo heroics with another gold.

"It's so hard for me to catch up with you two," Quan told Zhang and Chen in front of the TV cameras. "But I'm certainly happy to be able to once again stand on the highest podium."

The three-way tussle instantly grabbed the public's imagination, with 'Battle of the Diving Queens' becoming a trending topic on Chinese social media.

"Quan Hongchan is still very young, and she trains together with Chen Yuxi. We will try hard to nurture her. She is a rare and promising star of the sport, and looks sure to earn more honor for the nation in the future," said He Weiyi, head coach of the Guangdong diving team.

"She's still so young, and there's a long journey ahead of her. I hope she can keep learning and growing."

Yang Qian, who bagged the first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics by winning the women's 10-meter air rifle, also enjoyed more glory in Xi'an by triumphing in the 10m air rifle mixed team event along with Yang Haoran. The pair also won gold in the discipline in Tokyo.

"We are still partners, so this is just another competition in another location," said Yang Qian.