Cambodian sports figures hail China for great Olympics

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian sports figures on Wednesday praised China for presenting a great Winter Olympic Games to the world, saying that the event would be an important contribution to building a global community with a shared future for mankind.

National Olympic Committee of Cambodia's Secretary-General Vath Chamroeun congratulated China on achieving great success in organizing the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

"China has presented a great Games to the world," he told Xinhua. "The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games is the symbol of world peace, friendship, unity, harmony, and cooperation among the nations regardless their political system, religion, and race."

The Games has brought together about 2,900 athletes from 91 countries and regions.

Chamroeun said the gathering of the foreign leaders, including Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, in Beijing during the opening ceremony showed the support of the world for the Olympics, as well as their aspiration for world peace and unity.

"The Beijing Winter Olympic Games has created a new chapter in the history of international sports, and undoubtedly, the Games will make greater contributions to the Olympic movement and to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind," he said.

Speaking of the motto of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games "Together for a Shared Future", he said the phrase reflected the common aspiration of the human society to work together towards a global community of peace, unity, common development and prosperity.

"Sport does not discriminate. Sport is a universal language. Cambodia fully supports the Olympic Games and objects to all forms of politicization of sports," Chamroeun said.

Kaing Sothea, secretary-general of the Cambodian Hockey Federation, said amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, countries and regions around the world had sent their athletes to contest in the Games, which clearly demonstrated the spirit of friendship, unity, and international cooperation.

"Hosting the Beijing Winter Olympics on schedule marks another great victory for China against the backdrop of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," he told Xinhua. "This proves that no difficulty or challenge can prevent the Communist Party of China, the Chinese government and people from moving forward courageously."

"I believe that the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games will inject a new impetus into world peace, solidarity and sustainable development," Sothea added.

Ung Vuthy, a 41-year-old hockey assistant coach, said Beijing became the first city ever to have hosted both summer and winter editions of the Olympic Games, and that the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is the first global comprehensive sports event held on schedule after the outbreak of COVID-19.

"Despite in the difficult time of COVID-19, China has organized a green, inclusive, open and clean Games as planned," he said. "This truly reflects China's high attention to sport, which is an excellent tool to promote peace, togetherness, development and international cooperation."