Preparations heat up for Hangzhou event with hosts aiming to top medal table ahead of Olympics

Torchbearer Ye Jiaxing runs in the torch relay of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, on Sept 8. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Hangzhou, the main host city of the 19th Asian Games, initiated a symbolic beginning to the grand tournament as it commenced the celebratory torch relay on Sept 8.

The flame, a beacon of fraternity, progress, unity, and perseverance, is slated to travel throughout Zhejiang province and return to Hangzhou on Sept 20 for the final leg, culminating in the igniting of the caldron at the opening ceremony on Sept 23.

Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, lit the torch from a caldron at the launch ceremony near Hangzhou’s iconic West Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and announced the start of the relay.

Collected at the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City, another UNESCO World Heritage Site in Hangzhou, during the 100-day countdown to the opening of the sporting extravaganza, the flame will help sow the seeds of friendship, progress, unity, and endeavor, said Gao Zhidan, minister of China’s General Administration of Sport (GAS) and president of the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee, at the ceremony.

“The 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou will fully showcase the courage and perseverance of the athletes, and demonstrate the goodwill of the Asian people for peace, friendship, and progress,” said Song Luzeng, vice-president of the Olympic Council of Asia.

A total of 2,022 torchbearers, 732 of whom are women, from different Asian countries and regions will pass on the torch during the relay, according to the organizing committee. The youngest torchbearer is 14 years old and the oldest is 84 years old.

Thirty torchbearers were chosen through a random draw of public online applications from over 5 million people, said the organizing committee.

Large crowds gathered along the route of the relay on the inaugural day, chanting “Hangzhou jiayou! Yayun jiayou!” or “Come on, Hangzhou! Come on, Asian Games!”, as they cheered for each torchbearer.

Chen Xin, a running enthusiast from Dalian, Liaoning province, came to the West Lake early in the morning.

“Sports are beautiful,” she said. “I hope every athlete will perform at their best during the competition.”

A total of 106 torchbearers ran the first leg of the torch relay over a distance of 5.2 kilometers, including Olympic swimming gold medalist Luo Xuejuan, Paralympic swimming champion Song Maodang and Chinese women’s soccer star Wang Shuang.

“A healthy body is the foundation for a good education,” said torchbearer Chen Liqun, a retired high school principal who has won numerous awards and honors for helping poor students in remote areas.

Participating in sports will encourage children to dream big, and more importantly, to strengthen their willpower to realize these dreams, he said.

“I have truly felt the anticipation and enthusiasm for the Asian Games from the Hangzhou people,” said Olympic shooting champion Yang Qian, the last runner of the day’s relay.

“I have also felt the power of the torch relay,” added Yang, who was impressed by the design of the torch.

Standing at 730 millimeters high and weighing 1,200 grams, the torch takes its design cues from the 5,000-year-old Liangzhu Culture.

Afghan wushu athletes train in Kabul as they prepare for the forthcoming 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou. Four Afghan athletes will compete in wushu at the Asiad. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The torch “is an indication that the Chinese civilization has been passed down from generation to generation”, explained Wang Yun, dean of the Industrial Design and Research Institute at the China Academy of Art.

For over a year, Wang guided a team from the institute to complete the design of the torch.

The torch head was designed to resemble the appearance of a cong, an ancient Chinese jade artifact, with a square outer section, showing a harmonious square-round integration, and the burner nozzle takes its shape from the earliest oracle bone character of “cong”, whose meaning is “light traveling in a cycle inside”.

The surface patterns of the body of the torch are inspired by spiral patterns highly valued in the Liangzhu Culture and are shaped like fingerprints, naturally intertwined. 

At the base, the torch is embossed with eight “water veins”, symbolizing the evolution of civilization as well as the eight major river systems in Zhejiang. The overall contour and curve of the torch looks as if a hand is holding it, explained Wang.

The torch also includes advanced technologies in order to cope with bad weather conditions.

Multiple tests have been conducted on over 3,000 sets of torches, said an official from the torch relay command center of the Hangzhou Asian Games, including scenarios such as typhoons.

The flame can withstand gale-force winds, said the official, and the torch can be lit even in heavy rains of up to 300 millimeters per hour without worrying that it will be extinguished before the opening ceremony. 

Once the torch lights the Hangzhou Asian Games cauldron on Sept 23, China’s focus will move to topping the medal table and in doing so boosting its prospects at next year’s Paris Olympics.

Featuring a blend of youth and experience, the 1,329-member Chinese delegation, announced in Beijing on Sept 12, has vowed to do the host country proud by delivering excellent performances on and off the field.

Of the 886 athletes, 449 are men and 437 are women, with an average age of 25. Led by 36 Olympic gold medalists, the Chinese delegation will compete in 407 medal events out of the total 481 to be held in Hangzhou and five other co-host cities in the province, the GAS announced on Sept 12.

Having topped the Asian Games medal count 10 times in a row since the 1982 edition in India, the Chinese delegation is set to go all out to extend its dominance on home soil.

“We hope to put up the best possible performances in front of our fans and do it in a clean and honest way with zero tolerance against doping,” GAS minister Gao said during the delegation unveiling ceremony on Sept 12.

“Not only are we trying to finish on top of the overall medal table again, we will also approach the Asian Games as a major test ahead of the Paris Olympics to gain international experience and assess our performances against Olympic standards,” said Gao. 

Asian sporting powerhouse China aims to deliver world-class performances in six disciplines it is exceptionally strong in — table tennis, diving, weightlifting, shooting, gymnastics, and badminton — in Hangzhou, where tough competition is expected from neighbors such as Japan, South Korea, and India.

“The Asian Games will help examine our preparations for Paris 2024 thoroughly so that we can make timely adjustments in our tactics, talent selection, and command on the front line,” said Zhang Xin, secretary-general of China’s Asian Games delegation.

Contact the writers at mazhenhuan@chinadaily.com.cn