Italian athletes pose for photos during an activity held in Rome, Italy on July 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Jin Mamengni)
Italy announced a delegation of about 300 members for the 31st FISU World University Games to be held in Chengdu.
ROME, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Italy has announced a delegation of about 300 members for the 31st FISU World University Games to be held in Chengdu, making it one of the largest delegations from Europe to the Games.
Roughly 50 athletes and officials with the delegation attended a reception hosted late Friday for the Italian delegation by the Chinese embassy in the capital city of Rome.
Antonio Dima, president of the Italian Federation of University Sport, said in a speech that he believes the Chengdu Universiade will be a huge success and create new history for the Games.
The Italian side has confidence in China's high level of organizing ability and hospitality, Dima said, noting that the Italian delegation's visit to Chengdu will be an important page in the history of Italy's university sports.
Praising Chengdu of Sichuan Province as hometown of giant pandas and a cradle of ancient Chinese civilization, Dima said the city also reflects China's rapid development of science and technology, and that he believes the athletes will enjoy state-of-art competition venues and good accommodation in Chengdu.
At the reception, Chinese Ambassador to Italy Jia Guide said that sports are an important area for China and Italy to learn from each other and promote exchanges and cooperation.
As both countries have rich experience in hosting university games, Jia said he looks forward to seeing the two countries share their experience and expects athletes of the two countries to deliver good performance at the Games. ■
