The 15th Hunan Provincial Games concluded in Yiyang on September 16. Hengyang’s delegation delivered a strong performance, finishing second in total delegation points with 5,716.81 points. It also ranked second in youth group points, adult group points and youth competition points, marking the city’s best non-host performance at the Provincial Games in nearly 30 years and fulfilling its pre-Games goal of “securing third place and striving for second.”

Hengyang formed a delegation of more than 980 members to compete in 29 youth events and 12 adult events. Throughout the Games, its athletes competed with determination in swimming, canoeing, diving, boxing, basketball, table tennis and other events, setting a number of new records for the city’s participation in the Provincial Games.

Overall, Hengyang ranked among the province’s leading delegations. In addition to taking second place in four major point categories, it ranked third in total gold medals, youth gold medals, awarded gold medals and the number of athletes transferred to higher-level teams. Its adult group competition gold medals ranked fourth in the province. At the closing ceremony, Hengyang also won 10 honors, including the Special Contribution Award for Athlete Transfer and the Sportsmanship Award, achieving gains in competition results, talent development and team spirit.

The youth group delivered particularly strong results. In aquatic events, Hengyang won 13 gold, nine silver and 11 bronze medals in swimming, six gold, eight silver and six bronze medals in diving, and eight gold, nine silver and four bronze medals in canoeing. In badminton, the team won three gold, five silver and five bronze medals, while its taekwondo athletes claimed five gold, one silver and five bronze medals. Emerging events also saw breakthroughs, with Hengyang winning two gold, two silver and one bronze medal in breaking and ranking second in total points for the event.

The adult group made historic progress by ranking second in total points. Hengyang’s men’s basketball team won its first Provincial Games title, while table tennis, badminton, balloon volleyball and gateball also produced strong results.

In recent years, Hengyang has deepened the integration of sports and education, improved systems for selecting, training and transferring young athletes, optimized event planning, and promoted coordinated development of competitive sports, youth sports and mass fitness.

Translator: Jing