CHENGDU, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) — China swept each titles of breaking at The World Games 2025 on the Chengbei Gymnasium right here on Sunday, as Guo Pu (B-Girl Royal) and Qi Xiangyu (B-Boy Lithe-ing) clinched the ladies’s and males’s gold medals respectively.
The males’s semifinals featured three Japanese dancers and Lithe-ing because the lone Chinese. The 20-year-old defeated Hiroto Ono (B-Boy Hiro10) earlier than overcoming Isshin Hishikawa (B-Boy Issin) within the ultimate, with the house crowd on their toes all through the competition, cheering passionately for the native favourite.
Paris Olympic bronze medalist Shigeyuki Nakarai (B-Boy Shigekix) outperformed Hiro10 in an all-Japanese bronze medal conflict.
“I was so nervous and my legs were shaking before the final, but I kept telling myself to breathe and stay ready,” Lithe-ing stated.
Last 12 months on the Paris Olympics, he was drawn right into a “Group of Death” with Shigekix and Hiro10, and didn’t advance to the knockout stage, leaving the battle area in tears. After a 12 months of adjustment and development, he has turn out to be extra composed and mature – this time standing on high of the rostrum as champion.
“Compared with the Olympics, I felt much calmer this time,” he famous. “The pressure was still there, but it helped me instead of holding me back.”
The triumph marked the primary title for a Chinese B-Boy at a multi-sport occasion.
“When the national anthem played at the ceremony, it felt unreal – finally it was our flag and our song on this stage,” Lithe-ing stated.
In the ladies’s occasion, China confirmed even higher dominance as Royal confronted her nationwide teammate Liu Qingyi (B-Girl 671) within the ultimate, profitable in three rounds to say the gold.
The 16-year-old prodigy has been one of many hottest names in girls’s breaking over the previous half 12 months. Earlier this 12 months, Royal rose to prominence by profitable the FISE World Series in Montpellier, France, and went on to seize back-to-back titles on the Asian Youth Championships and the Asian Championships.
By the time she stepped onto the World Games stage in Chengdu, Royal had already established herself as one of many world’s high B-Girls.
“It has been a smooth half year for me, but I think it’s also the result of nearly ten years of effort. Dancing is a form of communication, and competing around the world has helped me learn from others’ styles and confidence, which in turn allowed me to open up and better express myself on stage,” Royal stated.
In the semifinals, Royal defeated France’s Sya Dembele (B-Girl Syssy), whereas 671 overcame Paris Olympic silver medalist Dominika Banevic of Lithuania (B-Girl Nicka) in a rematch of final 12 months’s Olympic semifinal.
This time 671 prevailed to achieve the ultimate, whereas Nicka later beat Syssy within the bronze medal contest.
“I felt I could win this time because I had prepared my battle strategy specifically for her,” 671 stated in regards to the semifinal. “For the final, I didn’t make any special plan – I just wanted to hold my ground in the tough upper bracket. Once I reached the last battle, I felt in good shape and showed my own style.”
It was solely the second time that breaking featured at a World Games. While China had only one semifinalist – 671 – in Birmingham in 2022, this time three Chinese dancers reached the semifinals, bringing house two golds and one silver for a breakthrough efficiency.
France’s Mounir Biba, a legendary B-Boy and a number of champion at worldwide occasions together with the Red Bull BC One, took cost as head coach of the Chinese nationwide staff in early 2022. At that point, few Chinese dancers had been capable of advance from the group stage at main world competitions.
“It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come in such a short time,” Biba stated. “Two gold medals here, an all-Chinese final for the B-girls, and our first-ever men’s title – this is a fantastic moment for the team.”
“When I started, Chinese breaking was almost unknown internationally,” he famous. “Now we have an Olympic bronze, Asian Games gold, and two World Games golds and a silver. In my 30 years as a B-boy, I’ve never seen a country progress so fast.”
“The atmosphere in Chengdu showed how much breaking is growing in China,” Biba added. “With so many young dancers and so much passion, I believe the next 10 to 15 years will be even brighter for us.”
Despite breaking’s absence from the Los Angeles 2028 after making its Olympic debut in Paris, the game will proceed to function at main multi-sport occasions resembling The World Games, the Asian Games and the Youth Olympic Games.
For Biba and his Chinese B-Boys and B-Girls, the World Games triumph in Chengdu shouldn’t be an finish, however a brand new starting.