Hong Weiqiang – from Jinhua city in East China's Zhejiang province – and his teammate Fang Yi swept past their rivals from East China's Jiangsu province by 2-0 (21-10, 21-19) to clinch gold in the men's beach volleyball (17 & under) final at the China's 14th National Games.
Beach volleyball player Hong Weiqiang wins the first National Games gold medal for his hometown – the Jindong district of Jinhua city, in Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: jhfabu]
The competition took place on Sept 23 in Xi'an, capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, which was the main venue for the Games.
Hong is a native of Jinhua's Jindong district and it is believed that this was the first National Games gold medal won by a Jindong athlete since the establishment of the district.
Hong was admitted to Jindong Junior Sports School in 2016 and subsequently became a member of the beach volleyball team. His first coach, Jin Xianwen – with a sharp eye for spotting up-and-coming talent – saw Hong's potential.
"He is really a fast learner and trains very hard. Off the field, he often watches videos of games and seeks out information to delve into playing techniques," Jin said.
In just three years, Hong was selected onto the Zhejiang beach volleyball team.
In 2019, he bagged a bronze medal in the 2nd Youth Games of the People's Republic of China and in June this year he claimed silver in the 2021 National Youth U17 Beach Volleyball Championship.
