D-Day for the World University Games. Postponed twice due to the health crisis, they finally kick off this Friday, July 28, in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province in southwest China. The event is scheduled to last until August 8, with a rich competition program featuring 269 medal events in 18 sports. For the occasion, the International University Sports Federation (FISU) has relaxed its participation rules. The maximum age for taking part has been raised from 25 to 27. And the event is now open to students who have graduated from university not only in the current year, but also in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Chengdu becomes the third city in mainland China to host the Summer Universiade, after Beijing in 2001 and Shenzhen in 2011. Unsurprisingly, the Chinese delegation will be the largest in the competition, with over 700 members, including 411 athletes from more than 100 universities. The opening ceremony will take place this Friday evening at Dong’an Lake Sports Park.
