The Seoul Metropolitan Sports Council (chairman Kang Tae-sun) announced Thursday that it had successfully concluded the 30th Seoul-Beijing Sports Friendship Exchange.
The council dispatched a 44-member delegation to Beijing from July 15 to 22, led by Chairman Kang as head of delegation and Secretary-General Kim Seong-beom as deputy head, to carry out friendly exchanges with local athletes.
During the event, Seoul's youth athletes in hockey, tennis and diving held friendly matches and joint training sessions with their Beijing counterparts, testing their competitive form and building mutual goodwill. The delegation also broadened cultural ties through visits to historical sites including the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven, as well as a tour of venues used at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Chairman Kang held an official meeting with Wei Qingfeng, director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, to discuss sports cooperation between the two cities. Director Wei requested that Seoul recommend and dispatch skilled judo coaches to help Beijing prepare for the 2029 National Games of China, and the council pledged its full cooperation.
The exchange is also expected to yield follow-up activities in hockey. The Seoul Hockey Association and the Beijing Hockey Association agreed to pursue a follow-up exchange in Seoul in the second half of the year, under which Beijing's hockey team will visit Seoul for joint training and a friendly match.
"Through this exchange, we were able to achieve meaningful results, including cooperation on dispatching judo coaches and plans for a follow-up hockey exchange," Kang said. "Going forward, we will continue to build on our more than 30 years of cooperation with Beijing to expand youth athlete exchanges and steadily strengthen practical sports diplomacy."
yjc@heraldcorp.com
