Yuri Senko, the ambassador of Belarus to China, wishes the athletes of Belarus and China will achieve good results in the coming Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and looks forward to closer exchanges between the two countries in the future.
Yuri Senko. (Photo/Nanfang Daily)
Senko is a fan of winter sports and an amateur ice hockey player. He has been to the ski resorts and skied in China from time to time.
He believes sports know no borders and have nothing to do with politics. “The Olympic Games are aimed to bring people together”, especially amid the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, he stressed.
Since taking office in November 2020, Senko has been paying close attention to the Beijing 2022. He and other ambassadors in China were invited to visit the Olympic venues last year in 2021.
“I was deeply impressed by how China was preparing all the facilities for the Winter Olympics,” said Senko. He thinks highly of the infrastructures’ quality and also appreciates China’s commitment to an eco-friendly and sustainable Winter Olympics.
“The use of green energy resources and the transformation of many functional sport facilities are such vital approaches to preserving nature. And at any time, the facilities can be rebuilt for a particular sport and be used for future sport development in China,” Senko elaborated.
In his view, the re-use of these venues to host sporting competitions after the Winter Olympics will not only promote tourism, but also attract world-class athletes and coaches to China for sporting exchanges and training, thus strengthening the country’s international sport cooperation.
The National Speed Skating Oval, known as the “Ice Ribbon”, is a newly built venue in Beijing’s existing Olympic Park. It can meet the competition requirements of five ice sports. Cutting-edge technologies enable the entire venue to be used for different purposes simultaneously. (Photo/Xinhua)
“If Belarus and China compete somewhere, it will be in winter sports,” said Senko, while in other fields, the two nations are close partners.
He noted that after 30 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties, China and Belarus have reached a higher level of cooperation in political relations, economy, education, science, technology, as well as traditional Chinese medicine.
He feels proud to see how China makes its achievements in various areas, particularly in sports. “We get a lot of improvements out of sports including health promotion.” He furthered that in sports, he could see people’s desire for the best and their striving for excellence.
“It is necessary to create appropriate conditions for this,” said Senko, “That’s where our efforts should be directed.”
Author | Jiang Chang (intern), Lydia Liu
Reporter | Ling Xi, Zhao Xiaona, Wang Shikun
Editor | Steven, Jasmine, Jerry
Planner | Huang Can, Chen Zhi
Coordinator | Liu Jiangtao, Hu Nianfei
