Host with the most gaining global recognition

Chengdu, Sichuan province, will make full use of the legacy of the FISU World University Games to boost its efforts to become a city known for hosting sports events, according to a news conference held by the games' executive committee.

In 2017, Chengdu put forward a development strategy to build itself into a world-famous sports city. The following year, it won the right to host the FISU World University Games, and the pace of achieving its goal was accelerated.

In 2021, Chengdu released its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) on the Building of a World-famous City of Sport Events, clarifying the roadmap for achieving the goal.

The city is closing in on that goal. It hosted the Chengdu 2022 World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals, is currently holding the FISU World University Games and will be the home of the 2025 World Games and other top international events during the five-year period, according to the plan.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) period, Chengdu successfully held 99 high-level international sports events, including the World Police and Firefighters Games in 2019. It also successfully won bids to host the 2023 AFC Asian Cup (now moved to Qatar), the 2024 Thomas and Uber Cup and the 2025 World Games.

A steady stream of competitive events has led to improvements of the city's infrastructure.

To prepare for the FISU World University Games, which began on Friday and will end on Aug 8, Chengdu built 13 new venues and renovated 36 existing ones, said Chen Zhi, deputy chief of the Chengdu Sports Bureau.

All the facilities — including Dong'an Lake Sports Park, where the opening ceremony was held — were built according to global standards.

Traveling between the athletes' village and the stadium during the games, Lenka, a tennis player from the University of Arkansas in the United States, said that everything was much better than she expected.

She said she was taken aback and began to like this beautiful, clean and orderly city.

Since 2017, Chengdu has invested more than 18 billion yuan ($2.52 billion) in the construction of large-scale stadium facilities.

The continuous implementation of large-scale sports events has enhanced Chengdu's international influence.

In the 2019 Global Event Influence list of countries and cities released by Sportcal, the world's leading sports market intelligence service provider, Chengdu jumped to 28th place from 89th and entered the top three in the country.