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SCMP Sport

The 31st World University Games has started in Chengdu, with the opening ceremony taking place in the mainland Chinese city on Friday.
Chinese president Xi Jinping will be on hand to declare the multi-sport event officially under way, and for the next 12 days thousands of athletes from around the world will compete in 269 events across 18 sports.
There are some famous faces taking part too, with the host nation including star centre Han Xu, who plays professionally for the New York Liberty in the WNBA, included in the women’s basketball squad.
Hong Kong has sent Olympic gold medallist Cheung Ka-long to take part in the fencing, as one of 142 athletes representing the city.
Here is everything you need to know about the event.

When and where
The 31st Fisu World University Games is set to run from July 28 to August 8 in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, becoming the third city in the Chinese mainland to host the biennial summer event, after Beijing in 2001 and Shenzhen in 2011.
The opening ceremony will take place in the Dong’an Lake Sports Park on Friday evening, with Xi hosting several world leaders.
Sports
The Games will feature 269 events across 18 sports, including 15 compulsory sports, namely archery, artistic gymnastics, athletics, badminton, basketball, diving, fencing, judo, rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball and water polo, as well as three optional sports chosen by the host country - rowing, shooting, and Wushu.
Hong Kong is sending its largest ever delegation, with 142 athletes representing the city in 11 sports: archery, tennis, volleyball, badminton, artistic gymnastics, table tennis, taekwondo, wushu, athletics, swimming and fencing.

Venues
The sporting events will take place in 27 competition venues, a combination of brand new structures and existing ones.
Located on the campus of Chengdu University, the Games Village is the first of its kind to be based on a school campus since the first Summer Games.
The village can accommodate about 11,000 people. Equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, it offers top-notch services in catering, fitness, commerce, leisure, and cultural exchanges, including autonomous driving buses and latest AI interpreting services.
How to watch
In Hong Kong, the opening and closing ceremonies will be shown on RTHK channel 32, while there will be occasional broadcasts of some of the events.
The action itself will be streamed by organisers on Olympics.com or by the International University Sports Federation on FISU.tv.
Athletes
World Cup winners, Olympic gold and bronze medallists, professional tennis players, and that’s just in the Chinese and Hong Kong squads.
Safe to say there are plenty of the “student athletes” on show in Chengdu who would not look out of place at next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
There is nothing to say professional athletes cannot compete, the major qualifying criteria is that they have not been out of university or an equivalent institution for more than a year and are between the ages of 17 and 25.

Fisu events
Organised by the International University Sports Federation (Fisu) Held every two years in a different city around the world, the World University Games are the largest global sports events for student-athletes, including summer and winter editions of the Games.
Since the inaugural Summer Games in 1959 in Turin, Italy, and Winter Games in 1960 in Chamonix, France, the Universiade has seen a total of 30 summer and 30 winter editions. The most recent summer event was held in Naples, Italy in 2019, with the Lake Placid Games in the United States in January 2023 being the most recent winter event.
The highest number of participants was registered at the Kazan 2013 Summer Universiade, with 11,759 athletes representing 159 countries and regions.


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A welcoming ceremony is held for the World University Games in Chengdu, China. Photo: Xinhua

A welcoming ceremony is held upon the arrival of Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Chengdu, capital of China’s Sichuan province, July 27, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

Torch bearer Zhong Ying runs with the torch during the torch relay of the 31st FISU Summer World University Games in Chengdu. Photo: Xinhua

Coleman Wong (left) and Cody Wong leave for the World University Games, which open in Chengdu on Friday. Photo: University Sports Federation of Hong Kong

World University Games: tennis pair Coleman Wong and Cody Wong among the first Hong Kong athletes to arrive in Chengdu

Hong Kong is sending a four-man and three-woman tennis squad to the World University Games. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong sending largest squad ever to World University Games in Chengdu, including Olympic gold medallist Cheung

Fencer Cheung Ka-long is among the 142 athletes representing Hong Kong at the World University Games. Photo: Handout

Cody Wong (left) and Lawrence Ng (right) in the front row at the flag presentation at The University of Hong Kong. Photo: Handout 

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Siobhan Haughey wins gold for Hong Kong at the 2017 World University Games. Photo: SCMP

Sport

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is sending its largest delegation yet, with World Cup winners, Olympic medallists and professional athletes in the mix
Chinese president Xi Jinping to welcome thousands of athletes and world leaders during the opening ceremony


Hong Kong is sending its largest delegation yet, with World Cup winners, Olympic medallists and professional athletes in the mix.


Universities in Hong Kong

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