The 13th National Student Games, which was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Education of China, the General Administration of Sport of China, and the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, and undertaken by People's Government of Zhejiang Province, took place in Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province from 3 to 16 September. This year marked the first time that the university games and middle school games were combined into a single event, in which competitions of 10 major sports events took place. A sports delegation comprised of 140 athletes from Macao's schools participated in the competitions of 6 major events, including track and field (university category and middle school category), swimming (university category and middle school category), football (university category), table tennis (middle school category), martial arts (university category and middle school category), and badminton (university category).
Track and Field Athlete Fok Chon Hou Carries Flag in Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony of the National Student Games was held at the Yellow Dragon Sports Centre Stadium, Hangzhou. The ceremony was themed “Competing Tirelessly in Pursuit of Chinese Dream”, with the objective of pursuing “unity, endeavor, civilization, and education”. Over 10,000 athletes and coaches from the delegations of 31 provinces of China (including autonomous regions and municipalities) and the delegations of Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR attended the ceremony. The Vice Premier of the State Council, Liu Yandong, directed the opening ceremony of the Games. As the Macao's schools sports delegation attended the opening ceremony, the track and field athlete, Fok Chon Hou, was the flag bearer responsible for carrying the regional flag when marching into the arena.
Achieving Brilliant Results of 3 Golds 2 Silvers and 4 Bronzes
During the competitions that took place in the 13-day period, Macao's schools sports delegation stayed united and members encouraged one another. They showed their perseverance and effort in the arena, and eventually achieved a brilliant result of 3 golds 2 silvers and 4 bronzes. The athletes of the middle school category took the lead by winning the first medal for the delegation. Wong Kui Sin, from the martial arts team, was awarded a bronze medal in the men's Tai Chi boxing. Subsequently, Lam Si Chong from the swimming team won another bronze medal in the men's 200-meter medley, with the result that broke the Macao's record as well. From the university swimming team, Chao Man Hou and Lei On Kei achieved the most outstanding results. They were awarded 2 golds 1 silver, and 1 gold 1 silver 1 bronze respectively in the individual event. In particular, Lei On Kei, partnering with her teammates Tam Chi Ian, Choi Weng Tong, and Long Chi Wai, was awarded a bronze medal in the women's 4x100 freestyle relay, in the Group A of the university category.
Transferring Flags to Qingdao, Shandong in the Closing Ceremony
The closing ceremony of the National Student Games was held at the Zijingang Sports Stadium, Zhejiang University. The organizing committee of the next host city, Qingdao of Shandong Province, received the flags of the University Games and the National Student Games of China, declaring that the Games this year officially concluded.