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CHENGDU, China, Jan. 29, 2021 /Xinhua=KYODO JBN/--

On the morning of January 22, 2021, the plane named the "Chengdu 2021 31st

Summer Universiade" took off from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and

landed safely at Chengdu Tianfu International Airport after 18 minutes of

flight, making history as the first civil passenger aircraft to land at the

Chengdu Tianfu Airport. Slated to open officially for service sometime this

year, Chengdu Tianfu International Airport will propel the capital of Sichuan

into an elite echelon following Beijing and Shanghai as the third city in the

Chinese Mainland to be served by two airports.

Embellished with motifs of the adorable giant panda, the "Chengdu 2021 31st

Summer Universiade" airplane is redolent of the Chinese city of Chengdu, dubbed

as the "capital of the giant panda". At the same time, the aircraft features

graphics of the World University Games, including colors that represent host

city and good wishes for the success of the Chengdu 2021 FISU World University

Games Summer.

The 31st Summer World University Games is set to take place in Chengdu between

August 18 and 29, which will feature 18 sports such as basketball, volleyball,

track and field and swimming. It is projected that more than 10,000 college

athletes and officials from around 170 nations and regions around the world

will descend on Chengdu, which will become the first city in western China to

host a major sports event.

World University Games selected Chengdu as the host city not by random chance,

because previously the metropolis has announced its intention to become a

"world-famous tournament city" and flexed its muscle on numerous occasions,

including 67 major sport events between 2018 and 2020 that count among them ITU

Triathlon World Cup, FIBA 3x3 World Tour Chengdu Masters, Badminton Asia Elite

Tour, Chengdu Open of the ATP World Tour 250 Series and ITF Junior Masters, to

name just a few.

In the latest edition of Global Sports Impact (GSI) Rating issued by Sportcal,

a world-leading provider of sports market intelligence, China shot up to the

number one spot on the latest GSI Nations Index, while Chengdu soared from 89th

place in the previous edition to 28th on the newest GSI Cities Index.

Chengdu has witnessed impressive achievements in sport competition development.

Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., Vice President of the International Olympic

Committee (IOC), mentioned during an interview that his father, the late Juan

Antonio Samaranch y Torello and former IOC President, donated USD10,000 in his

own name to the inaugural Chengdu Marathon as far back as 1986. Today, the

Chengdu Marathon has emerged as one of the candidate races for the World

Marathon Majors (WMM). Samaranch Jr. himself believes that Chengdu has already

risen as one of the best cities in hosting large-scale sport events around the

world.

According to person in charge of venues with the Executive Committee of the

Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games Summer, the opening and closing

ceremonies of the Games will take place at the main stadium, and its "flying

saucer" design both correlates with Chengdu's development as a "city of science

fiction" and originates from the Solar Divine Bird, an iconic element of

Chengdu heritage. Therefore the two aspects combine to symbolize the

conjunction of historical civilization and modern science and technology in the

city.

Chengdu has prepared 49 venues for the World University Games, including 13

newly constructed buildings and 36 renovated sites. At present, main structures

at all venues have been completed, and construction efforts will wrap up by

April this year, at which time the venues will be put into service. These

structures will also become the legacy of the World University Games upon the

conclusion of the competition and remain in the city for the hosting of future

sport events and for day-to-day use by local folks.

At present, there are only 200 days left until the opening of the Chengdu 2021

FISU World University Games Summer, which will be followed by around a dozen

major events, including the 2022 World Table Tennis Championships, 2023 AFC

Asian Cup and the 2025 World Games, among others.

An increasing number of international competitions being held in Chengdu

clearly prove that Chengdu has backed up its declaration of becoming a

"world-famous tournament city" with substantive action. Just as Juan Antonio

Samaranch Jr. has predicted, "Chengdu is running toward the world, and the

world is running into Chengdu".

SOURCE: Chengdu Tianfu International Airport