The National Games open tonight! Latest gold medal standings: Guangdong, Shandong, and Zhejiang lead, Hong Kong wins its second gold, Henan remains without gold.

On November 9th Beijing time, the quadrennial National Games are finally starting today. This year’s event takes place across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau simultaneously, with 419 gold medals to be awarded. Competitors fight passionately for their provinces, making the competition very exciting and widely followed!

The National Games represent the highest-level domestic competition, featuring numerous sports and wide participation. The attention it receives is obvious. Today’s results also somewhat reflect the economic strength of each province. Currently, Shandong dominates the Games, holding first place for four consecutive editions, but this year Guangdong, as the host, aims to break Shandong’s monopoly!

Due to the opening ceremony today, many events paused, resulting in only one gold medal awarded so far—in the women’s individual road cycling race. Hong Kong’s star Lee Sze-ying showcased her strong ability to successfully defend her title. This is Hong Kong’s second gold of the event, moving them up the rankings. Meanwhile, populous Henan still has no gold medals, which is a bit awkward, but it’s expected that Henan will quickly claim golds as many medal events are yet to start!

Because of scheduling, many sports began before the official start of the National Games and have already produced numerous gold medals. The current medal leaderboard shows host Guangdong, medal powerhouse Shandong, and swimming-strong Zhejiang occupying the top three spots. Jiangsu, once strong, is performing poorly with only 5 golds so far.

Written by Sporting Fiction