STORY: Athletes expect to enhance exchanges, friendship at Chengdu Universiade
DATELINE: July 27, 2023
LENGTH: 00:03:15
LOCATION: Jakarta/ISTANBUL, Türkiye
CATEGORY: SPORTS
 
SHOTLIST:
1. various of athletes training
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): NUSRET KAYHAN ALTUNKAYA, Turkish Wushu athlete
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Indonesian): BRIGITA MARCHELIA RUMANBI, Indonesian badminton player
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Indonesian): WAHYU SETIAWAN, Indonesian 100-meter dash runner
5. various of the Chengdu Universiade venues
 
STORYLINE:
 
The Universiade will take place in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, from July 28 through August 8, featuring a total of 18 sports.
 
Athletes from different countries share their expectations of the Games and cultural exchange activities.
 
SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): NUSRET KAYHAN ALTUNKAYA, Turkish Wushu athlete
"Wushu is a popular sport there. It is the traditional sport of the Chinese. I trained with Chinese athletes and learned a lot from them.
We are also working hard to improve Wushu in Türkiye and ourselves as individuals every day because the better the athletes, the better the coach, and the more chances we have to win medals abroad. 
I am looking forward to this event because our branch is not an Olympic sport, so we cannot join the Olympics. For us, the Universiade is the biggest and most prestigious competition in our sport. 
I expect that the Games in China will be especially challenging for us as Wushu is a Chinese cultural heritage. The Chinese will take it very seriously. I think I will face very strong opponents, but nobody is invincible.
I can speak Chinese and I hope to have good communication with the Chinese. I will concentrate on the competition first and then enjoy the cultural events."
 
SOUNDBITE 2 (Indonesian): BRIGITA MARCHELIA RUMANBI, Indonesian badminton player
"Not all student-athletes have the opportunity. I feel grateful to be part of the Indonesian team. It allows me to experience the feel of the Universiade."
 
SOUNDBITE 3 (Indonesian): WAHYU SETIAWAN, Indonesian 100-meter dash runner
"I am very hopeful because sport brings all nations together, especially us the university students who can share our views on sports in our countries.
I think this event is very important for the universities. We can enhance our cooperation with other countries.
It is good that in the FISU competition, we can see the system of sports from different countries. We can learn from the strengths of each country.
China is remarkable for Asia. China can host amazing competitions and they are successful. They have a smooth system of organizing, scouting and managing athletes."
 
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Jakarta/Istanbul, Türkiye.
(XHTV)