The year 2024 has come to an end, and it has been a year filled with exciting sports events and memorable moments that are worth revisiting. Chinese athletes have achieved remarkable results, making many breakthroughs and setting new records. The number of gold medals won at the Paris Olympics set a new high for competitions held outside of China, and there were also significant advancements in sports such as swimming, tennis, and rhythmic gymnastics.
On the platform, an initiative was launched to support the annual focus on athletes. Among male athletes, Wang Chuqin has consistently held the leading position, while among female athletes, it is a national table tennis player who tops the list.
Currently ranked first in the world, Sun Yingsha has received over 100 million supports, with the latest count being 14.933 million. She is indeed extremely popular, and table tennis itself receives a great deal of attention. Sun Yingsha is one of the most beloved players, drawing large crowds of fans wherever she competes. Especially in the past two years, she has remained firmly at the top of the world rankings, making her an absolute frontrunner and a hot favorite.
In second place is another mainstay of the national table tennis team, Wang Manyu, with 6.1102 million supports. This is also a high level of support, but it is still far from Sun Yingsha's over 100 million, with a difference of more than twice. Both are athletes of the same era, similar in age, and were once doubles partners with very close abilities. However, Wang Manyu has experienced some ups and downs in the past two years, with her performance not quite matching Sun Yingsha's. We look forward to their performances in the new year.
In third place is Quan Hongchan, the diving Olympic champion, with 1.6212 million supports. The gap between her and Sun Yingsha is even greater, nearly ten times apart. In recent years, Quan Hongchan's popularity has also been very high. Diving competitions are relatively rare compared to table tennis, which often has matches and can be continuously followed. Moreover, Quan Hongchan made her debut later than Sun Yingsha by a few years.
Fourth is another diving Olympic champion, Chen Yuxi, with 1.2741 million supports. She and Quan Hongchan are known as the "twin stars," and they have had both wins and losses in their individual 10-meter platform competitions. Naturally, Quan Hongchan's fame is higher, and the value of winning consecutive Olympic singles titles is undoubtedly greater.
Fifth is another table tennis athlete, Chen Meng, a two-time women's singles Olympic champion with four Olympic gold medals, who has received 1.2191 million supports. She recently announced her withdrawal from the world rankings. Although she did not achieve a Grand Slam, she has already accomplished a lot.
Sixth is Zhu Ting, a renowned volleyball player, with 733,000 supports. For Zhu Ting, she still maintains a relatively high competitive state and remains very popular domestically. She received the highest support among volleyball players. After returning to the national team last year, she did not achieve good results, especially at the Paris Olympics. Perhaps after participating in three Olympics, it might be reaching Zhu Ting's limit.
Seventh is Li Meng from the women's basketball team, with 455,900 supports. Despite facing some controversies last year, she remains an indispensable member of the Chinese women's basketball team and continues to have many supportive fans.
Eighth is Yang Liwei, also from the women's basketball team, with 419,000 supports. She is very capable, fast, flexible, aggressive, and has excellent court control skills.
Ninth is Huang Dongping, the Olympic champion in badminton, with 273,200 supports. Although she did not achieve good results at the Paris Olympics, her performance was commendable, and she played well throughout the season.
Tenth is another Olympic champion in badminton, Chen Yufei, with 184,400 supports. She also did not win a medal at the Paris Olympics, but based on her performance last season, she is still the top female singles player in the national badminton team.