•      Sat Nov 23 2024
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Cauldron lit at Hangzhou Asiad opening ceremony, Xi declares Game open



HANGZHOU, Sept. 23 (Xinhua): Swimming Olympic champion Wang Shun and a digital torchbearer jointly lit the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Asian Games.

Having been relayed through 11 cities in Zhejiang Province since September 8, the flame returned to Hangzhou on September 20 for one-day relay before its arrival at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium Saturday night.

Wang was one of the six athletes making the final relay in the stadium, the other five are swimming Olympic champion Ye Shiwen, table tennis Olympic champion Fan Zhendong, Beijing Winter Olympic freestyle skiing champion Xu Mengtao, weightlifting Olympic champion Shi Zhiyong, and former badminton world champion Li Lingwei.

Digital torchbearers are involved in the lighting of the cauldron at the Hangzhou Asian Games, the first of its kind in sport. The torch relay on the digital platform has attracted over 100 million people to participate.

Xi declares Hangzhou Asian Games open

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday night declared the 19th Asian Games open in Hangzhou, capital city of east China’s Zhejiang Province.