International reporters speak highly of Hangzhou Asiad preparations

By Sportswriters Yao Youming, Chen Chen, and Wang Junbao

HANGZHOU, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Numerous international reporters have praised the China's preparation efforts ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games set to kick off here on Saturday evening.

For Pakistani journalist Muhammad Yousaf, this is his third Asian Games to cover. However, the Express News reporter told Xinhua that the Hangzhou Asian Games was one of the most memorable events he has witnessed.

"The facilities are excellent and many of our athletes give me good remarks. I believe this will be one of the best ever Asian Games," said Yousaf.

He plans to focus on the cricket event, which is popular in his country. Moreover, he mentioned that there are some Pakistani talents in table tennis and shooting.

"We bagged four medals in 2018 Asian Games. I hope we can bring more medals home this time," Yousaf said.

Heather Dewar, who is working on the information system for the upcoming event, shared her impressions of Hangzhou. Even though she lived in Hong Kong, China for several years, many aspects of Hangzhou have left a lasting impression on her.

"I think China has done a great job...they want this Games to be about smart, green, ethical, and doing a lot with the environment," she said.

"And everywhere I see the electric vehicles around and all the bicycles. I expect them to be very well run," Dewar added.

Having covered major events like the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games, Dewar finds the Asian Games uniquely captivating, which drew her to Hangzhou for the first time.

"I wrote a lot of football stories in Scotland, but I have never seen Mongolian play football. So I covered the Mongolia and Vietnam in the football. It's very interesting," she said.

"I think it's a really good opportunity for lots of athletes to shine in their own sports. I'm going to cover a sport like dragon boat racing in the next few days."

Abdulaziz Yousef, representing beIN Sports of Qatar, commended Hangzhou's preparations.

"You don't have problem in traffic, city, stadium and people. China have experienced many big Games. I expect a perfect Asian Games here," Abdulaziz said.

After visiting the West Lake on Wednesday, the Syrian journalist recounted how local residents tried to assist him when he got lost, despite the language barrier.

"It is a perfect place and in my opinion, the city is one of the most beautiful cities in China. You need some more advertisement about the city's tourism," he said. "Actually, I will try to bring my family here after the Games."