Reporters take photos for Chenchen, one of the mascots of the Hangzhou Asian Games at the Main Media Center on September 22, 2023 in Hangzhou. Photo: VCG

Raja Randhir Singh, acting president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), highly affirmed the preparations and facilities for the Hangzhou Asian Games, saying that it is now ready for everything, during a news conference on Friday.

He said that the OCA officials feel honored and proud and are very excited for the upcoming Games.

"I think there's a wonderful job being done and we are very proud of the fact that we have a media center like this as well as the facilities that have been provided to us. Where the athletes are staying, the athletes' village, is amazing," Singh told the news conference.

"We are delighted to have such convenient facilities; everything is in place. We feel honored and proud, eagerly anticipating the games," said Singh.

The Hangzhou Asian Games is by far the largest, and has the most events and broadest coverage in history, Chen Weiqiang, Executive Secretary of the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (HAGOC) and the main spokesperson for the Games, said during Friday's news conference.

He revealed that the complexity of its event organization far exceeds that of previous Games, and that the HAGOC encountered enormous challenges in organizing it.

More than 10,000 media reporters will be in Hangzhou to cover this grand event, Chen said.

The spokesperson also gave a preview of the Asian Games opening ceremony, which is set to begin at 8 pm Saturday, describing it as "extremely exciting."

"Tide of Asia" will be the theme of the opening ceremony, he said. The ceremony will show the cultural intermingling of China and Asia and the world in the new era, and the unity and the love of the deep friendship of the Asian people, so as to really let everyone feel the Asian Games.

"The Asian Games is not only a sports event, but also a humanistic event, a communication event and a scientific and technological event," Chen said.

Wei Jizhong, OCA Honorary Life Vice President, described the Hangzhou Asian Games as open, bigger and harmonious.

"For the OCA, the promotion of sport across Asia is the ultimate goal, and we want to see athletes from more countries and regions participating in the Asian Games," said Wei.

"More than 80 percent of the delegations won medals at the last Asian Games, and the people of these countries were very excited and the status of sport in society rose with them, which is a success for the OCA," he said.

He emphasized that in addition to elite athletes, the Games have to take care of other athletes and sports lovers as well, who are also the main focus.

The Hangzhou Asian Games featured 40 sports and 481 events, and the number of registrants reached more than 30,000, surpassing that of the Olympic Games, which is the biggest gain of the Asian Games, Wei said.

The 19th Asian Games are set to take place from September 23 to October 8.