"I am glad that we can continue participating at the FISU University Games," the President remarked while meeting with the athletes at Shangri-La Hotel, Chengdu city, on Friday.
He told them that they are representing Indonesia at the sports event.
"I would like to dearly ask you all to maintain your condition so you can compete in your prime form," he told the athletes.
He also expressed the hope that all athletes will give their best to achieve the expected results, adding: "You have to demonstrate a strong fighting spirit, so you can achieve the optimal achievements."
During the meeting, President Widodo was accompanied by Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs, Muhadjir Effendy; Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan; Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi; Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin; and Indonesian Ambassador to China, Djauhari Oratmangun.
The President and First Lady Iriana are scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the 2023 FISU World University Games at Dong'an Lake Sports Stadium before returning to Jakarta.
The 2023 World University Games, which are being held from late July to early August, have brought together university students from around the globe to compete in a total of 18 sports branches, including badminton, archery, athletics, artistic gymnastics, and basketball.
This year, Indonesia has fielded 51 athletes from 31 higher educational institutions to compete in 8 sports branches.
The international multi-sports event, which is also known as the Universiade, is a biennial student-level summer Olympics organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU).
Initially, Chengdu was slated to host the 31st edition of the event in 2021, but the event was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Translator: Desca Lidya, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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