International Olympic Committee(IOC) President Thomas Bach believes China will exceed even the highest expectations in its hosting of the 9th Asian Winter Games in the northeastern city of Harbin, as the country continues to build on its legacy of staging world-class sports events.
The IOC President was among the many dignitaries who were in Harbin to attend the Games' opening ceremony on Friday night. Earlier in the day, Bach made a special visit to the international broadcast center which has been set up for the Games and told reporters he believes Harbin will host a memorable event.
After witnessing China's winter sports development over the last number of years, and given its experience in hosting high-profile events such as the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Bach is confident that China will again deliver a first-class Games.
"Seeing the great development over the last six years and knowing about the expertise of the people of Harbin and of China [in] organizing great sporting events, so therefore the expectations are very high," he said.
Driven by its successful hosting of the Winter Olympics three years ago, China set out its ambition to engage 300 million people in winter sports, and Bach noted that this vision is becoming a reality as shown by the widespread enthusiasm for the Harbin Games.
"These games are part of the legacy and development [of] winter sports in China. It's just breathtaking," he said.
The week-long Games has gathered over 1,200 competitors from 34 countries and regions, making this the largest ever edition of the event in terms of overall participation.
Notably, Bhutan, Cambodia and Saudi Arabia are taking part in an Asian Winter Games for the first time, which is a testament to the growing influence and popularity of winter sports across the region, especially in nations which may not typically be associated with ice and snow sports.
Bach believes the experience in Harbin will help inspire these new debutant athletes to aim even higher in their future sporting endeavors.
"These Winter Asian Games here in Harbin can carry on this legacy. So this excitement for winter sport is growing. And they (the first-time athletes) are now already looking forward to the next step. They want to qualify for Olympic Winter Games and this is how it should be that as many athletes in as many countries as possible are benefiting from this great legacy of Beijing 2022," he said.
Themed "Dream of Winter, Love among Asia," the Games features a total of 64 events across 11 winter sports disciplines, including biathlon, curling, ice hockey, figure skating, short track speed skating, skiing, and ski mountaineering.
Asian Winter Games showcases legacy of Beijing Olympics: IOC president
