China announces team for Chengdu Universiade

CHANGCHUN, July 12 (Xinhua) -- China has announced a delegation including 411 athletes for the 31st FISU World University Games to be held in Chengdu.

The Chinese delegation is composed of over 700 people, and 411 athletes from over 100 universities in 25 provinces across the country will participate in all 18 events of the Chengdu Universiade, which runs from July 28 to August 8.

The average age of athletes is 22.9 years old. Among the 206 male athletes and 205 female athletes, 387 will make their debuts at the summer Universiade in Chengdu. 344 are representing China for the first time at an international event, and 34 have participated in the Olympics.

From April to May 2023, the Federation of University Sports of China (FUSC) organized trials for 11 events including swimming, judo, badminton and table tennis.

As the Chengdu Universiade had been postponed twice due to the pandemic, in order to minimize the impact and guarantee the participation of the students, the International University Sports Federation (FISU) raised the maximum age of participants from 25 to 27.

Additionally, the rule that only current students and those who have graduated within one year can participate was also relaxed, allowing for the participation of students who graduated in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

China's Chef de mission, Wang Jiayi, encouraged the athletes to become good ambassadors for cultural exchanges.

"I hope everyone can carry forward the Olympic spirit, demonstrating through practical actions that the Chinese people have the will and determination to contribute to the development of the Olympic Movement and the unity of the world's people," he said.