People's Daily: Sports events add color to city life

On May 5, the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup ended in Chengdu, Sichuan, and the Chinese badminton team won the double championship again after 2012. The competition in the field is fierce, and all kinds of national fitness activities outside the field are hotly carried out. When the badminton feast meets the "May Day" holiday, Chengdu strives to transform the "flow" of the event into an economic "increment" and add luster to people's happy life.

On May 5, the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup, the world's highest men's and women's team championships, ended at the Chengdu High-tech Sports Center in Sichuan. Sixteen men's and 16 women's teams from all over the world competed for nine days, and in the end, the Chinese badminton team won the Thomas Cup for the 11th time and the Uber Cup for the 16th time, winning the double championship for the first time since 2012.

When the badminton feast meets the "May Day" holiday, people's enthusiasm for watching games, sports and tourism is high. At the game site, fans from all over the world expressed their love with their voices "cheering"; Fitness venues, sports enthusiasts sweat and enjoy happiness; In the streets and alleys, people follow the event to travel and consume, and the holiday life is rich and colorful......

The national feather won the double championship

It's not just about winning or losing

"The Chinese team, rise up! The Chinese team, rise up! "In the midst of cheers, the Chinese badminton men's and women's teams both defeated the Indonesian team in the final of this year's Tongyou Cup, winning the double championship again after 12 years." The success of the Chinese team is the result of everyone's efforts to overcome difficulties and work together. Zhang Jun, chairman of the Chinese Badminton Association, said, "This victory has boosted the morale of the team and made us more confident to sprint for the Paris Olympics." ”

China has won the most Uber Cups and the second most Thomas Cups. In Bangkok, Thailand in 2022, the Chinese women's team lost to the South Korean team in the final, and the Chinese men's team missed the semifinals, leaving regrets. In this home competition, the goal of the Chinese team is to regain the Tang You Cup, and the players are united, tenacious and energetic in the high-level duels.

In the Thomas Cup, the Chinese men's team won all three games in the group stage and qualified for the first place. Shi Yuqi played in full attendance and won all 6 games, defeating India's Prannoy, Malaysia's Lee Zijia and Indonesia's Ginting and other good players, and took on the responsibility of captaining the men's team with strength. The top Men's Doubles pair of Leung Wai Hang/Wang Chang adjusted in time after losing to South Korea's Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae in the group stage to beat Indonesia in the final to score a crucial point for the team's victory.

In the Uber Cup, the Chinese women's team did not lose a single set from the group stage to the knockout round, showing good strength. Olympic champion Chen Yufei is in stable form as the No. 1 singles player, and she can get a "good start" for the team every time she appears. "As long as I'm in this position, I'm going to give it my all," she said. World No. 1 Women's Doubles pair Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan became more and more resilient, withstanding a stubborn attack from Japan's strong opponent in the semi-finals. Chen Qingchen said.

It's not just about winning or losing. The Ugandan women's team only had 4 players in the competition, and they still worked hard until the last moment, and the "cheering" of the audience gave them a lot of motivation. On the message board of the athletes' lounge, many players painted the beautiful scenery and cute things of their hometown on the signature stickers, and also included Chengdu in their eyes. Danish team star Viktor Axelsen "posted" a video of himself dancing square dance on the streets of Chengdu with the Chinese "Perfectly integrated into local life......

Inside and outside the venue, nearly 2,000 volunteers, police officers and community workers from Chengdu High-tech Zone stuck to their posts to ensure the smooth progress of the event and help Chengdu show a clean, civilized and orderly city image.

As of noon on May 5, the organizing committee of this tournament has received more than 300 thanks from the BWF and the participating teams. BWF President Hoyer spoke highly of Chengdu: "With first-class venue facilities, professional organization and management, and the spirit of hard work, Chengdu has once again proved to the world its ability to host the competition. Chengdu is an important partner of the Badminton Federation, and we will definitely return to Chengdu with more major events in the future." ”

National fitness is hot

There is a strong sporty atmosphere

The competition in the court is fierce, and all kinds of badminton activities outside the court are hotly carried out. In the vicinity of Chengdu High-tech Sports Center, the "Feather You Walk with the Sports Carnival" series of activities are full of fun, and people of different ages can feel the charm of badminton; In Jiaozi Avenue, four trendy sports scenes created by Chengdu High-tech Zone have carried out special activities for five consecutive days, and badminton Olympic champion Zhang Ning and world champion Chen Jin have interacted with young athletes to encourage them to stick to playing and strengthen their physique.

According to the data of Chengdu Badminton Association, there are more than 440 venues (venues) with 4 or more badminton courts in the local area, and more than 3,000 badminton events at all levels are held in the city every year, and the number of long-term participants in badminton exceeds 500,000. "Badminton is one of the most popular sports in Chengdu." Qin Hao, executive deputy secretary general of the Chengdu Badminton Association, said.

"After watching the Tangyou Cup for 4 days in a row, every game of the Chinese team touches our hearts." Zhang Yuan's family from Liaoning Province are all badminton enthusiasts, and on this trip to Chengdu, she specially booked a hotel near a badminton hall to watch the game and not forget to wave a few beats with her family. "We feel very happy and fulfilled to be able to spend the 'May Day' holiday in sports and fitness." Zhang Yuan said.

In recent years, taking the opportunity of preparing for the World University Games, Chengdu has built and renovated 49 new stadiums, and continued to update the list of stadiums benefiting the people after the games, so that the whole people can share the fruits of the Universiade. In 2023, Universiade venues will be open to the public for more than 80,000 hours, and public sports venues will be open for free and at low cost to 5.39 million people. In addition, there are 296 "Community Sports Corners" and 621 "Green Road Fitness New Spaces" in the city, which further enhance the convenience of citizens' exercise and fitness.

Go to the Universiade venue to watch high-level events, go to the park greenway for cycling and jogging, and play ball and dance in the community sports corner...... Nowadays, "watching games and exercising at home" has become the daily life of Chengdu citizens. In 2023, Chengdu will also train about 6,500 social sports instructors and more than 1,200 "community sports health therapists", and carry out thousands of scientific fitness guidance services in sinking communities, promoting the transformation from "everyone loves fitness" to "everyone knows how to fitness".

Integrated development of sports and tourism

Enrich your holiday life

The cute panda plush doll, the keychain of the mascot "Xiong Dudu" and "Yu Rongrong", and the delicate badge...... As soon as the official licensed goods of this year's Tang You Cup were launched, they were widely loved by the audience. Chen Wen from Beijing, a fan of Guoyu, bought a refrigerator magnet in the shape of the Tang You Cup trophy after witnessing the Chinese team win the double championship, leaving a unique memorial for this viewing trip.

On April 26th and 27th, the Chengdu World Horticultural Exposition and the Tang You Cup opened one after another. The former is the highest level of professional international expo in the global landscape and horticulture industry, and is known as the "Olympics of the world's horticultural industry"; The latter is the fourth world's top badminton tournament held in China and the first time in southwest China. One competition and one meeting meet in Chengdu, watching, appreciating, and traveling, people have more choices for travel, and the consumption of hotels and restaurants near the place where the games and meetings are held has increased significantly.

A game stays for many days, and a family spends money on multiple people. With the growing demand for people's spiritual and cultural life, "travel with the event" has gradually become a new fashion. Chengdu seized the opportunity, on the one hand, to introduce top events and constantly polish the signboard of the famous event city; On the one hand, it actively cultivates local sports event brands to enrich the experience of participants.

On May 1, the home match of Chengdu Rongcheng team of the Chinese Super League was held in Phoenix Mountain Sports Park, and more than 40,000 fans spent an unforgettable football night. The popularity of the competition performance industry has extended more consumption scenarios, stimulated consumption vitality, and injected more momentum into the integrated development of culture, sports and tourism.

Statistics show that in 2023, the total scale of Chengdu's sports industry will reach 116 billion yuan; The city's total sports consumption reached 68.5 billion yuan, an increase of more than 70% over 2019. Zhu Jiangli, deputy director of Chengdu Sports Bureau, said that Chengdu will continue to uphold the concept of "sports make life better", and strive to transform the "flow" of the event into an economic "increment" to add luster to people's happy life.

Source: People's Daily, May 7, 2024, page 15