Shot put champion Gong Lijiao Photo: IC

The 15th National Games awarded 43 gold medals on Sunday, the highest single-day total of the competition. One of the most anticipated events took place at Macao's Galaxy Arena, where Olympic champion Fan Zhendong of Shanghai and Wang Manyu of Heilongjiang captured the men's and women's singles titles, respectively.

Despite a slow start, trailing 9-4 in the first game, Fan pocketed seven points in a row to clinch an 11-9 win. Lin Shidong, 20, won the second game 11-8, but 28-year-old Fan was unstoppable afterwards, taking the next three games 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 for the gold.

He also reflected on his singles journey at the Games. "Reaching the singles final four times in a row, each time I had to face and overcome challenges to get there; every edition of the National Games represents a different stage of my career and will become a very special memory." 

At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Fan won both the men's singles and team gold medals, becoming the 11th player in history to achieve a career Grand Slam of the Olympic Games, World Championships, and World Cup.

Although the singles competition is over, Fan's National Games journey isn't finished. He said he hopes to perform well in the team event and help his team go further.

Fan will next team up with Xu Xin to represent Shanghai in the men's table tennis team event. With Shanghai drawn in the same group as Beijing - home to world No.1 Wang Chuqin and Ma Long, the anticipated "Beijing-Shanghai showdown" is drawing widespread attention.Earlier on Sunday, Wang cruised past Liaoning's Yuan Licen 11-9, 11-8, 4-11, 11-5, 11-7 to secure bronze. On Saturday, in a much-anticipated clash, Fan defeated Wang 4-2 in the table tennis men's singles semifinals. 

"Table tennis has become one of the most closely followed sports in China in recent years. Fan's victory shows he remains one of the world's elite players, and it also underscores the intensity and high level of competition at the National Games, where even the current core members of the national team are hardly guaranteed a win," Luo Le, a sports scholar at Beijing University of Chemical Technology, told the Global Times on Sunday.

The women's singles final featured Wang Manyu and world No.1 Sun Yingsha on Sunday night, the champion and runner-up from the previous Games. After a closely contested match, Wang ultimately claimed the gold medal. Sun took the lead early, winning the first game 11-7. However, Wang bounced back with resilience, claiming three consecutive games 11-8, 12-10, and 11-4. In the fifth game, Sun managed to fight off a late surge from Wang, securing a tense 16-14 victory. Despite Sun's strong performance in the sixth game, Wang made a stunning comeback, scoring eight consecutive points to clinch the final game 11-9 and secure the victory.

The two athletes who reached the women's singles final are closely ranked in skill and represent the pinnacle of women's table tennis today. That's why it's often joked that winning a National Games table tennis title is even harder than becoming a world champion, noted Luo.

At this year's World Table Tennis (WTT) Championships in Doha, Sun edged Wang 4-3 to retain her women's singles title. In October, Wang defeated Sun 4-2 to win the 2025 WTT China Smash women's singles crown. 

On Saturday, Sun faced Macao veteran Zhu Yuling in the semifinals. Zhu took the first game 11-9, but Sun quickly adjusted to win the next four 11-4, 12-10, 13-11, 11-6. 

Olympic shot put champion Gong Lijiao of Hebei won the title with a throw of 19.68 meters, securing her fifth consecutive National Games gold on Sunday evening.

At the age of 36, despite a natural decline in both competitiveness and physical ability, Gong achieved her fifth consecutive title of National Games title, becoming a role model for all Chinese track and field athletes, veteran sport commentator and analyst Wang Chao told the Global Times. 

Gong will be a benchmark in the field of track and field in China, a feat that even greats like Liu Xiang and Su Bingtian never achieved, Wang noted.

In the pool, Olympic champion Zhang Yufei of Jiangsu won the women's 50-meter butterfly final. Zhejiang's Pan Zhanle tied for third with Liu Wudi in the men's 50-meter freestyle, and Peng Xuwei of Hubei won the women's 200-meter backstroke gold medal. Hebei standout Li Bingjie won her third straight title in the women's 800-meter freestyle. 

Wang Manyu reacts during the women's singles final match, Oct. 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Han)