Hangzhou Municipal Government looks to create Asian Games sporting legacy

October 6, 2023

With the 2023 Asian Games entering their final days of competition, the Hangzhou Municipal Government has agreed a partnership with the Badminton World Federation (BWF), International Hockey Federation (FIH) and International Canoe Federation (ICF) that aims to create a sporting legacy for the Chinese city.

With Hangzhou looking to host more international events and enhance its global standing, the memorandum of cooperation will see it deliver “top international events” across the three sports - building on the success of the 19th Asian Games.

Speaking at a press briefing at the Games’ Main Media Centre on Wednesday, Hangzhou Mayor and Deputy Secretary General of the Games organising committee, Yao Gaoyuan stated “we've set our goals beyond just hosting a successful edition of the Asian Games.

“The legacy of the Asian Games will play an instrumental role in helping Hangzhou develop into a world-renowned metropolis and international sports hub.

"We need to continue making the best use of the venues, organizational experiences and all kinds of resources we prepared for the Asiad in order to maximise the event's rich legacy."

The briefing also saw representatives of the ICF, FIH and BWF announce that they had each signed a memorandum of understanding with the city government to bring their respective events and promotional programs to Hangzhou, aimed at expanding their sports' presence and popularity in one of China's most economically developed regions.

ICF President, Thomas Konietzko noted "I think the Asian Games in Hangzhou are absolutely comparable to the Olympics.

“Congratulate the organisers for doing a really great job.

"Hangzhou and our sport belong together because this beautiful city, with all these rivers and lakes, offers so many opportunities for canoeing."

A highlight of the cooperation will see the ICF will launch a new tournament, the 2024 Super Cup, in October next year at the Fuyang Water Sports Centre, where four canoeing disciplines - canoe sprint and slalom, which are Olympic events, and canoe polo and marathon, which are not - will be contested at the same venue for the first time.

Badminton, which already enjoys a massive presence in China, will also see more action at the Asiad venue in just over two months when the BWF World Tour Finals serve the opening fixture of its four-year stay in Hangzhou, beginning in December.

BWF Secretary-General, Thomas Lund noted “we appreciate that the leadership in Hangzhou has been thinking ahead, not only about the two weeks of competition currently underway at the Asian Games, but also what is going to happen in the months and years to come

FIH President, Tayyab Ikram, praised Hangzhou's effort in promoting the sport at the grassroots as a game-changer for hockey's future, adding “we would like to see a real strong footprint of hockey in Hangzhou. And I think that's the way to move forward in order to commit to a strong legacy after the Asian Games.”

Mayor Goayuan, went on to say “our goal is after the Games have concluded (for us to) make good use of the facilities.

"We will build the city into a host city of international sports events.”

The Asian Games, recognised as the second-largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympic Games, were due to take place from last year, but the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) postponed the event due to the “pandemic situation” in China at the time.

Running from Saturday 23rd September and closing this Sunday (8th October), the 19th Asian Games have seen large crowds attending events in Hangzhou and the five co-host cities in Zhejiang province, with some sports experiencing sell-out crowds over the first five days of competition.

Hangzhou 2022 have claimed that more than CNY¥500 million (US$68.5 million) worth of tickets have been sold for the Asian Games.

Images: Used through the 19th Asian Games, the Fuyang Water Sports Centre will host future International Canoe Federation events (top) and Hangzhou Mayor Yao Gaoyuan wants to vastly increase the number of sporting events held in the city (below). Credit: Hangzhou 2022.

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