The CCTV Sports Personality Award Ceremony, recognized as the Chinese version of the Laureus World Sports Awards, was held in Beijing last night. Considered the premier award event on the sporting calendar, the ceremony takes place annually.

Since 2016 was the year of the Rio Olympic Games, the award ceremony attracted more attention than ever. Finally, the women’s volleyball team became the biggest winner as expected. The team won four awards including Best Female Athlete (won by Zhu Ting, ace spiker), Best Team, Best Coach (Won by Lang Ping, the chief coach of the women’s volleyball ) and the Sports Special Contribution.

The women’s volleyball team arguably holds a special place in the hearts of Chinese people. The team has made it to the top podium a total of five times in various World Championships, World Cups and Olympics. In the 1980s, the phrase “the women’s volleyball spirit” became popular, and symbolized selflessness, teamwork, perseverance and the determination to “never give up.” Though the team went through ups and downs across the past three decades, their victory in Rio has made them a sporting icon in China again.

Ma Long, the captain of Chinese men’s table tennis team and gold medal winner in Rio Olympics, won the Best Male Athlete.

Divers Wu Minxia and Shi Tingmao, who won the gold metal in the women‘s synchronised three-meter springboard, are the Best Pairing.

Fu Yuanhui, the swimmer who became extremely popular after the Olympic Games due to her usage of the buzzword “primordial power”, gave a talk show performance at the ceremony, which turned out to be one highlight from the event.

The complete list of winners :

Best Male Athlete: Ma Long, Table Tennis

Best Female Athlete: Zhu Ting, Volleyball

Best Pairing: Wu Minxia/Shi Tingmao, Diving

Best Team: Chinese women’s volleyball team

Best Coach: Lang Ping, Volleyball

Best Rookie: Ren Qian, Diving

Breakthrough: Gong Jinjie/Zhong Tianshi, Cycling

Best Sportsmanship: Miman Aymila

Best Athlete with Disabilities: Rong Jing, Wheelchair Fencing

Best Non-Olympic Athlete: Zou Shiming, Boxing

Sports Special Contribution: Chinese women’s volleyball team

Cover image from Sina