HARBIN, February 11th (AMSP/CGTN) – – Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Husain Al Musallam has praised the remarkable transformation of the northeast Chinese city of Harbin and China’s ambitious vision of engaging 300 million people in winter sports, as the 9th Asian Winter Games heat up in the “ice city”.
Running from Feb 7 to 14, this year’s edition of the Games marks Harbin’s second time as host after the city previously staged the event back in 1996.
Reflecting on his visits to Harbin since the 1990s, Al Musallam highlighted the dramatic changes in the city’s sports infrastructure and people’s growing enthusiasm for winter sports.
“I came here to Harbin a long time ago in the 1990s for preparation for the 1996 [Asian] Winter Games. And of course, I came again during the preparation last year. What you can see and what you feel is a different city, Harbin. It’s completely not the city I’d been in 1994 or 1995 or 1996. The sport facility is world-class facility, I remembered what the facility was in 1996 comparing to the facility now. You cannot compare. And I think the citizens of Harbin, they love the Asian [Winter] Games and this could be not because of the preparation [for the Games] but this could be from their long history [with the Games] for more than 20 years. Now they have in their memory the past Winter Asian Games here,” he said.
Al Musallam also expressed deep appreciation for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s commitment to expanding winter sports participation across China.
“First of all, I would like to put in record my deep appreciation and thanks to his excellency President Xi for what he’s doing not only for winter sport, for sport in general and using the platform of the sport to make better society, healthy society. And this is [one of] the most important things for the leader,” he said.
Noting China’s goal of engaging 300 million people in winter sports, he said the presence of children on ski slopes proves that the vision has become a reality.
“In relation to the court, that 300 million, I think you can witness here. Even when you go to the mountain here, not [only] the athletes, you can see a lot of children in the snow. I’ve been here, coming so many times. Last year during the inspection, I was shocked from the number of the new generation being engaged now into the winter sport. I think this vision now is becoming the reality,” he said.
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CGTN