HAGEN, Germany, July 18 (Xinhua) -- With the Rhine-Ruhr World University Games on full swing, FISU President Leonz Eder shared his thoughts on this biennial event for students on Friday, emphasizing that their mission is to promote a better understanding of different cultures.
The 32nd FISU Summer Universiade, co-hosted by six cities in Germany, held its opening ceremony on Wednesday, and Eder has been touring the venues since then. He appeared at the Krollmann Arena, where the China women's basketball team was playing against Portugal in a group match, and conveyed his message to all participants.
"When the opening ceremony is over, people can't wait to start competing. Excellence in mind and body start to play, win or lose, and also of course to communicate with each other, this is very important," he said.
"On the court, I expect high level competitions. For some sports, it may not showcase competitiveness until quarterfinals or semifinals. But some sports will be at high level from the beginning, like tennis or badminton."
"Not only on the pitch, but I expect that the students can communicate with each other. Because we support and can build bridges, we are working for a better understanding between different cultures. And this is why the students were brought here to compete. This is my message, just play and use the opportunity to meet as many people as possible on and off the pitch," he added.
Eder also announced that he plans to attend the opening ceremony of the Chengdu World Games next month and praised the host city of the last Universiade.
"As I said in my closing ceremony speech in Chengdu, the Chengdu Universiade was the best one we ever had in history. It was amazing, and I have wonderful memories."
"And since then, I have already visited Chengdu two times. It also founded a Universiade museum. The people of Chengdu are fantastic and we all love them." ■