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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, October 19, 2003

Chinese City Games opens in Changsha

The fifth Chinese City Games was officially opened in Changsha,capital of central China's Hunan Province, Oct. 18, 2003. with more than 5,000 athletes from 78 delegations.


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Chinese City Games opens in Changsha
The fifth Chinese City Games was officially opened in Changsha,capital of central China's Hunan Province, Oct. 18, 2003. with more than 5,000 athletes from 78 delegations.

State Councilor Chen Zhili declared the opening of the games.

Tipped as the cradle of the future stars, the 10-day City Gamesfrom October 18 to 27 will test the limits of the participants andfind the talents with potentials for the 2008 Olympic Games for the first time since Beijing won the right to host Olympics in 2001.

The quadrennial sports gala sets strict age limits in each sport, most athletes are under 20 but for gymnastics, participants are under 13.

The athletes will compete for 320 gold medals in 29 sports, most of which are Olympic sports including athletics, swimming, archery, badminton, baseball, basketball, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, judo, rowing, shooting, soccer, softball, table tennis, volleyball, beach volleyball, weightlifting, trampoline, taekwondo, tennis and wrestling.

The Games, inaugurated in 1988, witnessed the debut of the athletes from Taiwan, which marks the first time that athletes from Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan competed in theCity Games.

At the most exciting moment in the opening ceremony, five former Olympic champions including diver Xiong Ni, badminton player Gong Zhichao, weightlifter Yang Xia, gymnasts Liu Xuan and Lu Li, carried the flame into the stadium before Li Xiaopeng, Sydney Olympic champion, ignited the cauldron in the main stadium.




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