WRESTLERS from China

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Chinese Wrestlers of all time. This list of famous Chinese Wrestlers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Chinese Wrestlers.

1. Tong Wen (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 39.52, Tong Wen is the most famous Chinese Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages on wikipedia.

Tong Wen (Chinese: 佟文; pinyin: Tóng Wén; born 1 February 1983 in Tianjin) is a Chinese judoka. Born in Tianjin, she began training in Judo when she was 13. In the 2008 Summer Olympics she won the gold medal. She also won gold medals at the World Judo Championships of 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011 as well as a bronze medal in 2001. On 10 May 2010, she was banned for two years by the International Judo Federation because of Clenbuterol doping and was required to give back her gold medal from the World Championships of 2009. Tong subsequently contested the ban and took her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport which ruled that a doping violation could not be proved and found, in her favor, ordering that she be reinstated immediately with all rights. She returned to international competition in May 2011, winning gold at the Moscow Grand Slam.

2. Zhuang Xiaoyan (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 37.39, Zhuang Xiaoyan is the 2nd most famous Chinese Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Zhuang Xiaoyan (庄晓岩; born 4 May 1969) is a Chinese judo coach, former international judo champion, and winner of the gold medal for judo in the women's +72 kg (heavyweight) division at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Her medal was China's first Olympic gold medal in judo.

3. Sun Fuming (b. 1974)

With an HPI of 35.73, Sun Fuming is the 3rd most famous Chinese Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Sun Fuming (simplified Chinese: 孙福明; traditional Chinese: 孫福明; pinyin: Sūn Fúmíng; born 14 April 1974, in Xifeng, Tieling, Liaoning) is a female Chinese judoka who competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics and in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Sun won the gold medal in the heavyweight (+72 kg) class in 1996. In 2000 she was unable to achieve another Olympic medal due to her injury.

4. Yuan Hua (b. 1974)

With an HPI of 35.69, Yuan Hua is the 4th most famous Chinese Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Yuan Hua (Chinese: 袁华; born 16 April 1974) is a Chinese judoka and Olympic champion. She won a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

5. Liu Xia (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 33.63, Liu Xia is the 5th most famous Chinese Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Liu Xia (simplified Chinese: 刘霞; traditional Chinese: 劉霞; pinyin: Liú Xiá; born 6 January 1979, in Qingdao, Shandong) is a female Chinese judoka. She was the silver medalist in the ‍–‍78 kg category at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She was the 2003 Summer Universiade gold medalist and won her first continental title at the 2007 Asian Championships.

6. Tang Lin (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 31.71, Tang Lin is the 6th most famous Chinese Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Tang Lin (Chinese: 唐琳; pinyin: Táng Lín; born 7 May 1976) is a Chinese judoka and Olympic champion. She won the gold medal in the half heavyweight division at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

7. Wang Xu (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 30.74, Wang Xu is the 7th most famous Chinese Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Wang Xu (Chinese: 王旭; pinyin: Wáng Xù; born September 27, 1985, in Beijing) is a female Chinese freestyle wrestler who competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, winning a gold medal in the 72 kg weight class. She was replaced at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by Wang Jiao, who went on to win the gold medal.

8. Yang Xiuli (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 29.19, Yang Xiuli is the 8th most famous Chinese Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Yang Xiuli (simplified Chinese: 杨秀丽; traditional Chinese: 楊秀麗; pinyin: Yáng Xiùlì; born 1 September 1983 in Fuxin, Liaoning) is a Chinese judoka. She won a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2006 Asian Games 78 kg category.

9. Wang Jiao (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 28.46, Wang Jiao is the 9th most famous Chinese Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Wang Jiao (simplified Chinese: 王娇; traditional Chinese: 王嬌; pinyin: Wáng Jiāo, born 20 January 1988, Shenyang, Liaoning) is a female Chinese freestyle wrestler who won gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She was a late replacement for Xu Wang. She beat Jenny Fransson in the first round, Ali Bernard in the quarter-finals and Kyoko Hamaguchi in the semi-finals before beating Stanka Zlateva in the gold medal match. She competed again at the 2012 Summer Olympics, but was less successful. She beat Amarachi Obiajunwa in her first match and Svetlana Saenco in the quarterfinals before losing to Nataliya Vorobyova in the semifinals. Because Vorobyova reached the final, Wang entered the repechage, but lost her bronze medal match to Guzel Manyurova.

10. Sun Yanan (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 24.89, Sun Yanan is the 10th most famous Chinese Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Sun Yanan (Chinese: 孙亚楠; pinyin: Sūn Yànán; born 15 September 1992 in Fengcheng, Liaoning) is a Chinese freestyle wrestler. She won the silver medal in the women's 50 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.