A B-player at the second qualification trials held at the Lishui Extreme Sports Hall in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province on Sunday Photo: Snapshot of Sina Weibo

 China's first national breakdancing team was officially revealed after the end of the second qualification trials held at the Lishui Extreme Sports Hall in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province on Sunday. Eight breakdancers (four men and four women) stood out during the trials.

The first qualification trials were held in Shanghai in late December 2022. According to the competition system, the top eight men's and women's groups would move on to the second round and get corresponding points through a round-robin competition within the group. Finally, the top four men's and women's groups (three B-dancers and one substitute) formally establised the Chinese National Breakdancing Team.

"I usually practice hard and compete well. I felt so happy to compete for China…I hope to stand on the podium at the Paris Olympics and win a medal for China. I will work hard toward this goal," Liu Qingyi, who has become one member of the Chinese National Breakdancing Team told the Global Times.

The team will face several important competitions in 2023, including the World Championship of World Dance Sport Federation (WDSF) in Belgium and the Hangzhou Asian Games in East China's Zhejiang Province in September. The champions of these two events will directly qualify for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Yin Guochen, an official with the General Administration of Sport of China, told media that the WDSF World Championship and Asian Games in 2023 are straight-through competitions. The goal of the Chinese B-dancers is to strive to get a straight-through spot in these two competitions. In addition, the first point race will be held in Japan in February. 

"According to international rules, only three men and three women can participate in each game, so we plan to divide the eight players into three main players and one substitute for each gender."

After each point match, if the last dancer does not enter the top 16, he or she will be replaced by a substitute so as to encourage B-dancers and achieve the goal of getting the qualifications for the Paris Olympic Games.

Breakdancing rose in popularity in China after it was announced in 2020 as a new event for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. It is divided into men's and women's groups, each with 16 places. The competition is scheduled to be held in August and October in 2024.