HANGZHOU, Sept. 23 - Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the 19th Asian Games (Asiad)     1     (official) open on Saturday night at the lotus-shaped Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium. The Hangzhou Asian Games marks it is the third time that China     2     (hold) the Asiad, following Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010.

Gao Zhidan, president of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), said the organizers were ready to present a wonderful Asian Games. “Let’s honor the Olympic spirit, fight for new records of Asian sports,     3     write together a new chapter of an Asian community (共同体) with a     4     (share) future,” he noted.

With the theme “Tides Surging in Asia”, water played a     5     (center) role throughout the cultural performance. It symbolized (象征) the     6     (memory) of the Qiantang River, the excitement of sports, Zhejiang’s spirit, and the pulse of the times, showing     7     connection between China, Asia, and the world.

During the performance, some famous buildings from Asian countries and areas     8     (show) on the LED screens. Another key part of the performance was     9     there were no real fireworks. Instead, with 3D animation and augmented reality (增强现实), electronic smokeless fireworks were on display.

From September 23     10     October 8, the Hangzhou Asian Games will feature 40 sports, 61 disciplines, and 481 events.

One of the world’s    1    (big) multi-sports events took place in Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China.    2     (celebrate) the 19th Asian Games, the mascots(吉祥物) of the grand sporting event - Lianlian, Congcong, and Chenchen — have made    3     (they) first appearance. And the torch (火炬) for the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games was named “Eternal Flame” and its design    4     (come) from the Liangzhu Culture, which was a testament to the 5000-year-old Chinese civilization.

Since the opening ceremony on September 23, 11,830    5    (athlete) from 45 countries and regions have gathered in Zhejiang to compete in 481 events in Hangzhou and neighboring cities including Ningbo, Wenzhou and Jinhua.    6     (interesting), the 19th Asian Games have introduced E-sports as a medal event,    7     (give) global recognition to this new form of sport alongside more familiar physical activities.

The first Asian Games were organized in 1951 in New Delhi, India. So far, 17 Asian Games    8    (organize). The Asian Games,    9    symbolizes (象征) the mutual equality and unity of Asian countries, is a multinational sport event organized at the gap of every 4 years by members of the Asian Games Federation. Only Asian players can take part     10    this event.

Swimmer Zhang Yufei     1    (become) a household name in China ever since her 200m butterfly gold at the Tokyo Olympics. At the just     2    (cơnclude) FISU World UniversityGames in Chengdu, the 25-year-old not only expanded her medal collection but also set a new women’s 50m freestyle FISU Games record.

For her,     3     (better) her own record is     4     meaningful than winning gold medals.“Before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, I was chasing the     5     (world) top swimmers and top podiums(领奖台). But after the Tokyo Games     6     I reached the highest podium, I became the one being chased by others, the target of others. Now the     7    (big) rival(对手), sometimes, is me,”she told China Daily.

With such     8     mindset, the young swimming star is now more determined than ever. As for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, Zhang said she     9     looking forward to hearing the cheers of the home crowd and was aiming to win the event’s Most Valuable Player award and break the 100mbutterfly world record.“I set a goal     10     each competition. As long as I reach that goal and gain experience, I can accept whatever result I get,”she added.

The torch relay for the Hangzhou Asian Games     1    (launch) on Sep.8 near the iconic West Lake, as     2    (announce) during a press conference on Wednesday at the Hangzhou Asian Games Main Media Center.

The torch journeyed through 11 cities in Zhejiang province,    3     included Huzhou, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Ningbo, Zhoushan, Taizhou, Wenzhou, Lishui, Jinhua, and Quzhou, before it returned to Hangzhou on Sept 20 to complete     4    (it) final leg. A total of 2,022 torch bearers took part in the relay,     5    (range) from|14 to 84 years old.

In line with the games’ spirit of being “green, smart, economical, and ethical,” the planning for the Hangzhou Asian Games torch relay route     6    (stress) simplicity and a fitting scale. The design of the relay routes in each location emphasized the unique characteristics, historical and     7    (culture) significance, and natural beauty of the respective cities, ensuring a     8    (diverse) of visually breath-taking journey.

Furthermore,     9     torch relay combined both online and offline elements. Following the Asian Games Flame Collection Ceremony on June 15, the “Digital Torch bearer” online relay activity started. Up to now, over 760 million people     10    (participate) in the Asian Games online torch relay, with the count of “Digital Torch bearers” over 84 million.