This aerial photo taken on March 30, 2022 shows the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center’s main stadium (R) and Tennis Center in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

As sports represent the meaning of peaceful coexistence, the Hangzhou Asian Games will be seen as an event to call for unity worldwide, said a senior Mongolian official.

ULAN BATOR, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) — The upcoming 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, will be an event to promote world unity, a senior Mongolian official has said.

The Asian Games, a major sports event not only in Asia but also in the world, are now at the center of attention of sports fans around the globe, Badmaanyambuu Bat-Erdene, chairman of the National Committee for Olympic Movement, Physical Activities and Sport, told Xinhua recently.

He highlighted the slogan of “Heart to Heart, @Future,” under which the Hangzhou Asian Games will kick off on Saturday.

“I understand the motto of the Hangzhou Asian Games as showing that sport is a guarantee for the peaceful coexistence of nations around the world,” he said, noting that as sports represent the meaning of peaceful coexistence, the Hangzhou Asian Games will be seen as an event to call for unity worldwide.

Bat-Erdene, 59, is widely regarded as one of the greatest Mongolian wrestlers of all time. The retired wrestler holds the most-win record at 11 times in the country’s annual traditional wrestling tournament and holiday Naadam. Particularly, he won four medals in judo at the Asian Games, including a silver in the 95 kg category and a bronze in the open class at the Beijing Asian Games in 1990.

Photo taken on Sept. 16, 2023 shows a view of the Hangzhou Asian Games Village in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

Mongolia aims to break its medal records at the Hangzhou Asian Games, he said.

“The two gold medals won in freestyle wrestling at the Asian Games held in Iran’s capital Tehran in 1974 are the start of the success stories of the Asian Games for our country. Meanwhile, our athletes took four gold, nine silver, and 11 bronze medals at the previous Asian Games in Indonesian Jakarta and Palembang in 2018, which was recorded as the most medal-winning Games for our country,” he said.

“Now, we are aiming to improve the success we managed at the previous Asian Games by winning at least six and more gold medals at the forthcoming Asian Games,” Bat-Erdene said, stressing that the country’s best chance of medaling will come in freestyle wrestling, judo, boxing, shooting and weightlifting, among others.

This photo taken on June 15, 2023 shows the medals of the 19th Asian Games unveiled at a ceremony in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

Bat-Erdene voiced his confidence that Mongolian athletes will compete fairly with other athletes, saying they will “promote the name of their country, and sing the national anthem many times at the Hangzhou Asian Games.” He also wished all athletes at the Games a great success.

Mongolia is set to send a delegation of over 600 people to the Hangzhou Asian Games, its largest at a single Asian Games.

Sports relations between Mongolia and China have a long history, Bat-Erdene said, noting that bilateral cooperation has been successfully implemented and expanded at all levels. “In recent years, major projects with Chinese investment in Mongolia’s sports sector have been successfully implemented, bearing fruits.”

He said that the two countries need to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields, including sports.

Mongolia is interested in further expanding cooperation with China in the fields of public physical education, research in sports science, national teams joint training, youth sports, sports management, and sports tourism, Bat-Erdene said.  ■