7th Chinese City Games closes in Nanchang
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Xinhua, October 25, 2011
The 7th Chinese City Games, the last multi-sport event in China before the 2012 London Olympics, concluded here in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province on Tuesday.
It's the biggest national sport gala ever held in Nanchang, a famous historical and cultural city boasting of numerous historic revolutionary sites.
The 10-day competition has drawn more than 6,000 athletes from 57 delegations across the nation contesting in 301 events of 25 sports in the Chinese version of the Youth Olympics.
Three junior world records were bettered in weightlifting and several national records were beaten. The Games also witnessed the rise of many potential stars in swimming, athletics, weightlifting and table tennis.
"The Games' organizing committee deserves our warm congratulations for their efforts to make it a great success," said Liu Peng, minister of the State General Administration of Sports (SGAS).
"It serves as a great test event for the level of Chinese teenage athletes," Liu added.
A series of innovative measures were put forward during this Games which has widely won praise, such as canceling the medal standings.
The organizers' zero-tolerance policy against doping, assisted by an anti-doping campaign among the youngsters, clearly worked well during the Games as no athletes tested positive for banned drugs.
According to Yuan Hong, deputy director of the anti-doping department of the City Games organizing committee, a total of 1,190 doping tests were conducted throughout the Games, a 10 percent up on the number for last version.
The City Games, inaugurated in 1988, is regarded as a platform for young athletes to gain experiences. It's also an opportunity for sports scouts to seek talented athletes and put up the backing forces for China.
The eighth City Games will be held in southeast China's Fujian Province in 2015.
