Scene of the sports event. (Photo by Pan Yu/Huaihua Daily)
On the evening of October 28, the 7th Huaihua Municipal Sports Games was hosted at the City Sports Center. Xu Zhongjian, secretary of the CPC Huaihua Municipal Committee addressed the opening speech. Later on, Wei Zhaohui, deputy secretary of the CPC Huaihua Municipal Committee and Acting Mayor, delivered a speech, highlighting the significance of the event. The ceremony attendees included the government leaders such as Li Wanqian, director of the Standing Committee of the Huaihua Municipal People's Congress, and Niu Shunsheng, chairman of the Huaihua Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Peng Xiandan, Li Weilin, Yang Zhihua, Yin Peiguo, Zou Xingwang, Hu Chen, Xiang Jianping, Li Ruqing, Wang Gang, and Zhang Zaiqi. Xiang Rulian, vice mayor of the Huaihua Municipal Government presided over the opening ceremony.
At 7:30 p.m., the sports event commenced. To the stirring strains of the Athletes' March, the referee and athlete contingents entered the venue with vigorous strides. As the majestic national anthem resounded, the bright five-star red flag was steadily raised, unfurling in the wind. Subsequently, both the Olympic flag and the emblematic banner of the 7th Huaihua Municipal Games were hoisted in a solemn sequence.
In his speech, Wei remarked that in recent years, the entire city has thoroughly studied and implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourses on sports. There has been a comprehensive execution of the decisions made by the Central Committee as well as the requirements set forth by the provincial committee and government. This dedication to pragmatic action has spurred a vigorous development of mass sports, led to one success over another in competitive sports, and accelerated the growth of the sports industry, resulting in a thriving landscape for various sporting activities. In addition, he stressed that the organizing committee should be expected to deliver an exceptional event through meticulous services, while athletes should be encouraged to demonstrate top performance, sportsmanship, and camaraderie. Judges and referees should uphold impartiality in officiating to safeguard fair competition.
Finally, he emphasized that the city should draw upon this opportunity to further ignite perseverance and positive thinking, thereby facilitating the pursuit of the "Three Hubs and Four New Missions" vision and implementing the "Five New Initiatives and Four City Development" strategy, achieving new excellence, and demonstrating renewed vigor.
Following the opening ceremony, a cultural and sports performance on the theme "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains Towards the Future" was put on the stage.
The current session of the games has set new records in the event categories and participant numbers. Featuring 21 major disciplines subdivided into 388 events, the competitions fall into two divisions: Youth Group and Adult Group. The former comprises twelve events including basketball, football, table tennis, badminton, athletics, swimming, weightlifting, wrestling, martial arts, boxing, and street dance. The latter offers nine events such as basketball, football, soft volleyball, table tennis, badminton, swimming, taichi, line dance, and gateball. A total of 3,384 athletes will compete for 734 gold medals.
（Translated by Feng Tao）