Sports
By Fang Jingyi
Two top notch competitions in the world, the 2023 HSBC BWF World Tour Finals and the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship kicked off on Dec 13 at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium and the Huanglong Sports Center Gymnasium, respectively.
As the first world-class events to land in Hangzhou after the Asian Games and the highest-level competitions in their tour system, the 2023 HSBC BWF World Tour Finals attracted 63 top players from 10 countries and regions. It was worthy of mentioning that the Chinese national badminton team was the only team participating in all the events of the Finals. The Zhejiang originated badminton players such as Chen Yufei and Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong were competing on their home court again after Hangzhou Asian Games.
Volleyball fans get to witness six of the world's strongest women's club teams in Hangzhou. The 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship began on Dec 13, with four teams competing in the first round on the opening day. The group games will last for three days, leading up to the finals scheduled in the evening of Dec 17 at 19:30.
In addition, marathon runners will have their moment this weekend with the 2023 Hangzhou Marathon. Recognized by World Athletics as a Gold Label Road Races event, 36,000 participants will set off from Huanglong Sports Center and 20,000 of them will finish the full marathon at the Asian Games Village.