Macau, China, June 9, 2023: Around 700 people are expected to join the Macau leg of the Hangzhou Asian Games Fun Run on Sunday, June 11.
The 2km run will take participants past a series of landmarks in Macau, alongside the estuary of the South China Sea that separates Macau peninsula from Taipa island. These include the Macau Science Centre, the Kun Iam Statue located at the end of a 60m causeway and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Avenue.
In order to promote the Hangzhou Asian Games Fun Run in Macau, a three-way press conference was held on Friday afternoon at the Sports Bureau offices of the Macau Special Administrative Region Government.
The three speakers were Mr Jeans Zhou Jian, Director of Media and Broadcast of the Olympic Council of Asia; Mr Wang Jinhao, Director of Safety and Security at the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee; and Mr Andrew Chan Chak Mo, Secretary General of the Sports and Olympic Committee of Macau, China.
The President of the Sports Bureau, Mr Pun Weng Kun, was also in attendance, along with Sports Bureau officials and members of the Olympic Committee executive board.
On behalf of the Olympic Committee, Mr Chan welcomed the guests from HAGOC and OCA and said the stage was set for an enjoyable fun run on Sunday morning.
Mr Wang updated the local media on the preparations for the Hangzhou Asian Games, which will run from September 23 to October 8, 2023, and said he looked forward to welcoming the Macau delegation to Hangzhou later this year. Macau will be represented by 180 athletes in 21 sports.
On behalf of the OCA, Mr Zhou said Macau was one of the most important members of the Olympic Council of Asia, committed to promoting the development of the Asian Games and Olympic Movement. He pointed out that Macau had hosted the OCA’s Asian Indoor Games in 2007 and had supported the Asian Games Fun Run for many years.
“I remember coming to Macau in 2012 for the 2014 Incheon Asian Games Fun Run and also for the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games Fun Run,” he said.
“The success of many sports events and activities in Macau is due to the full assistance and support of the Macau SAR Government and the Macau Sports Bureau. The good, cooperative relationship between the Macau Olympic Committee, the Macau Special Administrative Region Government and the Macau Sports Bureau provides a strong backbone for the Olympic Movement and is the fundamental reason for the vigorous development of sports in this region.
“Therefore, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the Macau Olympic Committee, the Macau SAR Government and the Macau Sports Bureau on behalf of the Olympic Council of Asia, especially from the Director General, Mr Husain Al-Musallam.”
Mr Zhou explained that the global pandemic had severely restricted the OCA’s efforts to stage the Hangzhou Asian Games Fun Run, and the overseas series did not begin until Cambodia in October 2022. Since then, however, many National Olympic Committees have come forward to organise the fun run and share the joy of the Asian Games with the local people.
In the past month alone, the OCA, in cooperation with HAGOC and the NOCs, has held seven fun runs in Iran, Palestine, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines.
“With the work of the Macau Olympic Committee and Sports Bureau, I am sure the Macau leg of the Hangzhou Asian Games Fun Run on Sunday will be a great success,” he concluded.
