Cui Yang, hailing from Hai'an, Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, played a pivotal role in securing a gold medal for Team China in the taekwondo mixed team final at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou on Sept 25.

Cui was part of the Chinese mixed team alongside fellow athletes Song Jie, Song Zhaoxiang, and Zhou Zeqi. He is currently preparing for the individual taekwondo event at the Games on Sept 27.

Born in 2000, Cui's taekwondo journey began at the age of 9, when he was enrolled in the Wuxi Sports School for taekwondo training. At the age of 16, he joined the Zhejiang provincial taekwondo team.

In the latter half of 2018, Cui Yang began studying at Beijing Sports University while concurrently serving a part of the national taekwondo team. His dedication paid off in 2019 when he clinched the first position in the 2019 China National Taekwondo Series Tournament.

Cui Yang (right) receives the award. [Photo/Nantong Daily]