Li Xinyi from Shenzhen Senior High School won the silver medal in aerobics at the 13th Student Sports Games of China, setting a new record for women’s single aerobics in Guangdong Province at the national-level students’ sports games.

This year’s games, spanning 13 days, is the first to combine college-aged athletes with high school-aged athletes in a competitive setting. A total of over 5,000 high school and college students of 34 delegations from all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, including teams from Hong Kong and Macao, took part in the competitions.

The aerobics competition was held from September 6 to 15 at China Academy of Art. The Guangdong aerobics delegation joined the games after four months of harsh training and Li, a 12th-grader at Shenzhen Senior High School, won the silver medal with her outstanding performance.

Li was born in 1999. When studying at Songgang No.1 Primary School, she was selected to join the aerobics team of the school and learned under coach Wang Zefeng and has kept training consistently ever since. In 2011, she won her first national championship.

“I love aerobics. We trained really hard at that time,” recalled Li. “We didn’t have room for practice and borrowed a martial arts classroom. In summer, we practiced in a room without air conditioning or even an electric fan. We sweat a lot.”

In September 2012, Li went to study at Shenzhen Senior High School. She practices aerobics while continuing her studies. In 2015, she received the title of “national master of sports.”

To better prepare for the 13th Student Sports Games, Li suspended one month of study. “I believe that every effort will get its reward. I hope to make more progress in this sport.”

(Chen Xiaochun)