The Sports Delegation of China parade into the Rajamangala National Stadium at the opening ceremony of the 24th Universiade Bangkok 2007 in Bangkok, capital of Thailand, Aug. 8, 2007. (Xinhua Photo)
BANGKOK, Aug 8 (TNA) – The 24th World University Games (WUGs), also known as the Universiade, was officially opened Wednesday evening at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.
His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn presided over the opening ceremony of the games as was part of Thailand’s year-long celebrations for the 80th birthday of the revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Nearly 8,000 athletes between the ages of 17 and 28 from more than 150 countries are vying for 236 gold medals in 15 sports during August 8-18.
Hosted under the theme “All become one,” the Games are being held at four main venues — Thammasat University’s Rangsit campus, the Hua Mark sports complex and Muang Thong Thani.
Thailand carried home one gold, one silver and one bronze in the last round of the games, the 2005 Games in Turkey.
As host of this year’s event, Thailand is targeted to win up to 10 gold medals.
Some 390 Thai athletes are taking part in the Games. The Thai hopefuls include Olympic taekwondo bronze medallist Yaowapa Burapolchai, badminton star Boonsak Ponsana and the country’s number one tennis player Danai Udomchoke.
The WUGs are held every two years under the auspices of FISU, the International University Sports Federation. The Games are the second largest global high performance multi-sports event after the Olympics and, in many sports, are of a comparable or higher standard than the Commonwealth Games.
Athletes during the 11-day event will compete in athletics, swimming, diving, water polo, basketball, fencing, soccer, gymnastics, judo, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, badminton, golf, shooting, softball and taekwondo.
The 25th WUGs will be held in Belgrade, Serbia July 1-12, 2009 and the next Universiade is scheduled to be organised in Shenzhen, China in 2011. (TNA)-E003