World Sailing President praises “world class” sailing venue at Asian Games
by World Sailing 29 Sep 2023 08:50 PDT
World Sailing President praises “world class” sailing venue at Asian Games © World Sailing
World Sailing President Quanhai Li has praised the sailing competition at the 19th Asian Games, staged in a facility he described as a "fantastic benefit" for sailing in the region.
Over seven days at the Xiangshan Sailing Centre in Ningbo, 129 athletes contested 14 events. China was the leading sailing nation with eight medals in total but they were closely followed by Thailand and Singapore who claimed seven each.
The Asian Games were a major qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with places available in the men's and women's dinghy events, men's and women's windsurfing events, and men's and women's kite events.
The sailing was held at the new Xiangshan Sailing Centre, part of the Songlan Mountain Resort, which was completed in March 2021.
World Sailing President Li said: "We have seen a world-class sailing competition in a world-class venue at the 19th Asian Games. The standard of competition has been very high in all 14 events.
"That is testimony to the growing strength of sailing in Asia, as we saw at the Allianz Sailing World Championships. The credit for that must go to our Member National Authorities in the region who are working so hard to nurture the grassroots in their territories.
"The Xiangshan Sailing Centre provided the perfect setting for the athletes to show their abilities. It really is a superb venue, and I am sure it will provide a strong legacy and a fantastic benefit for sailing across the region for a long time into the future."
David Graham, CEO of World Sailing, said: "I was speechless when I came into this sailing centre - it is world class, whether that is the facilities for the athletes and officials, the area where the boats are stored and a nice sheltered harbour for the boats to get out to the field of play.
"The organisation of the sailing event in the Asian Games has been first class - it's a mixture of local experts, and experts from other countries, who have come together as a team and done a fantastic job. The quality of the racing has been absolutely brilliant."