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Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) vice president Wei Jizhong of China at screen-capped ng SEAG opening from Google
The 30th edition of the Southeast Asian Games’ opening really made everybody proud of being a Filipino, patriotic fervor is at an all time high.
The
50,000 seat Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan was the site for the opening
ceremony of this edition’s SEA games, and the country really pulled all the
stops to show a highlighted beauty of a united Philippines which featured a
strong thematic thread of Filipino culture.
Reports says, the hosting of
the Philippines even if on the initial stages have caught the attention of a
lot of personalities, among of the many is Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) vice
president Wei Jizhong of China.
He was among the 50,000 plus audience
that was made awed by the Philippine production and handling of the biennial
games, that led him to suggest why not put this expertise in a higher level,
like the Asian Games in 2030.
“The Philippine Arena is perhaps a unique arena in the world. We
witnessed the enthusiasm of all athletes, and showed the excellent tradition of
the SEA Games so far,” he said, before adding:
The last and only time the country
hosted the Asian Games was in 1954, it was the second edition of the Asian
version of the Olympics.
Wei
in a press conference with Philippine sports officials said he was very much
impressed with the opening ceremonies and the Filipinos commitment in making
sure this would be a successful hosting of the event.
"Government plays a leading role,
social responsibility is shared, and [there is a] large participation of the
people . . . You did very well," Wei said.
"This means that the Philippines
is capable to organize bigger-scale games."
He
was also surprised when he attended the ice hockey event at Mall of Asia Ice
Rink, that the venue was packed to the rafters even though the sport is not as
popular in the country like basketball and volleyball.
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He
just cannot ignore the welcoming attitude of the Filipino people towards sport
which according to him is a major factor that really impressed him.
As
of now the 2022 ASIAN Games will be hosted by Hangzhou in China, while Nagoya
in Japan will be the next host in 2016.
