China's young sports stars shone bright in 2014 with the country topping the medal standings at the 2^nd Youth Summer Olympic Games held in Nanjing in August.

The 38 gold-medal haul was a fitting encore to the hosts' sterling performance in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

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The Nanjing Games not only showcased the upcoming stars of Chinese sports, it was also an opportunity for organizers to dazzle young participants from all over the world with a series of well-crafted social and cultural programs with the theme "Share the Games, Share our Dreams."

At the close of the games, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach was all praises for organizers.

"These Summer Youth Olympic Games was a resounding success thanks to our wonderful Chinese hosts," said Bach.

The successful staging of the Nanjing games is seen as boosting China's chances in bagging the joint bid of Beijing and Zhangjiakou to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

2014 was also a big year for Chinese tennis with Li Na's Australian Open victory. Li Na finally won in her third finals match in as many years in the tournament, overcoming Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia in straight sets. It was Li Na's second Grand Slam win after her 2011 French Open triumph.

Women's Tennis Association (WTA) chairman Stacey Allaster praised the Chinese tennis trailblazer, congratulating her for the Australian Open win. The WTA chairman also called the athlete an "extraordinary role model" for female tennis players and recounted how they witnessed her continuous improvement year after year.

Another professional who made his presence felt in his field was China's top snooker player Ding Junhui. Ding was the first-ever Asian snooker player to be awarded with the number 1 ranking at the end of the prestigious 2014 Coral UK Championship.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn commended Ding for his achievement congratulated him for being the first Asian athlete to be the top one in the world.

Also making it on the world stage is weightlifter Liao Hui, who swept the men's 69-kg category gold medals up for grabs at the World Weightlifting Championships. Liao also managed to break the 166-kg snatch and the 359-kg total world records.

At the Sochi Winter Games, female speed skater Zhang Hong won China's first-ever skating Olympic gold while 18-year-old Yang Haoran was on target as he shot his way to the gold medals at the Youth Games, Asian Games and the World Championships.

Tagsli na, Ding Junhui, Liao Hui, Zhang Hong, Yang Haoran, China sports