Hangzhou Asian Games Fun Run held in Maldives with 700 participants

Malé City, Maldives: The "Hangzhou Fun Run" Maldives station was held at Hulhumalé, at 6:00 am on February 4, 2023. At Hulhumalé Synthetic Athletics Track at 5:45 in the morning, 700 athletes from 22 schools, 8 Maldives Sports Associations, and local Chinese-funded businesses assembled. Among the attendees were Mohamed Abdul Sattar, President of the Maldives Olympic Committee, Wang Lixin, China's Ambassador to the Maldives, Zhou Jian, Director of the Olympic Council of Asia's Media and Broadcasting, Thamooh Ahmed Saeed, Secretary General of MOC, Ahmed Latheef, Maldives' Foreign Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Song Jianbo, Director of Co-host Cities Department. This “Fun Run” is the first stop of the “Fun Run” in South Asia, according to Sattar, President of the MOC, who also conveyed his best wishes to the Maldives delegation for their participation in the next Asian Games in Hangzhou. MOC was thanked by Ambassador Wang Lixin for putting together this “Fun Run” to raise awareness of the Hangzhou Asian Games. Sports, according to her, is a bridge for communication between people from different countries and regions, and a catalyst for the friendship between China and Maldives which promotes friendship, unity, and peace. This Fun Run's inaugural ceremony is quite special. To sound of “Sangu”, the runners joyfully began their race. (SANGU: "The locals affectionately refer to the conch shell as "Sangu." Island chiefs have used the conch shell to summon the islanders to assemble and remind them to attend special local events for decades. The native islanders now perform a ceremony to welcome visitors in which they blow the conch shell, known locally as the "Sangu." They hold conch shells in both hands while blowing loudly wearing their traditional clothes.) It was a 3-kilometer Fun Run. The event was concluded at 7:45am. A Hangzhou Asian Games commemorative medal was awarded to each entity that participated at the event.