Hagop Khajirian, First Deputy Secretary General of FIBA Asia (middle) and Sun Jun,International Affairs Officer of Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) (right) are inspecting Wuhan Sports Center.

A delegation of FIBA Asia headed by Hagop Khajirian, First Deputy Secretary General of FIBA Asia, inspected Wuhan on October 29 for its bid to host the FIBA Asia Championship for Men.

Khajirian was deeply impressed by Wuhan’s passion to organize the games and the sincerity of its citizens, according to SINA Sports News. “There is still a long way to go before we decide which city will host the games, but I’m sure that it will be a great success if the games are held in Wuhan, out of your passion and spirits,” said Khajirian in a brief feedback in the afternoon.

When inspecting the Wuhan Sports Center, Li Jinsheng, vice president of the Chinese Basketball Association, said, “The basic infrastructure here is of first-rate all over China, even the world.” Besides the basic infrastructure, Khajirian also cared about the soft environment, including the media service.

The game was once scheduled to be held in Lebanon, but obviously Lebanon's poor performance in hosting the FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup in August casted doubt on its capability of organizing the premier event of FIBA Asia next year. So China entered the list of candidates for organizing the games. Suzhou and Wuhan are competing to host them. A delegation composed of members from the FIBA Asia and the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) inspected the two cities. The organizer of the games will be selected at the plenary session of the FIBA Asia this December.