Three AUBites compete in China

By Marc Daou---

The Universiade is an international sporting and cultural festival staged every two years in a different city and second in importance only to the Olympic Games. Organized by FISU (Federation Internationale du Sport Universitaire or International University Sports Federation) founded in1949, FISU's main responsibility is the supervision the World University Championships (UNIVERSIADE). FISU is composed of 129 National University Sports Federations. The Universiade consists of 10 compulsory sports and up to three optional sports chosen by the host country. The Universiades and Championships are open to all student athletes who have not been out of university or its equivalent for more than a year and who are between 17 and 28 years old. This year the 21st Universiade was hosted in Beijing, China. The event set a new record totaling163 participating countries and regions, in addition to a record number of participants that beat the old record by more than 600. The 21st Universiade hosted 6,622 participants, 2,688 male athletes, and 1,723 female athletes plus 2,211 officials. In addition, 396 overseas journalists covered the Universiade, in addition to local journalists. The Lebanese delegation comprised 50 individuals including athletes, coaches, officials, and one physiotherapist. The Lebanese delegation participated in basketball, volleyball, swimming, athletics, tennis, table tennis but did not participate in football, judo, gymnastics, fencing, diving and waterpolo. The results achieved were equal to the preparation. Only three students represented AUB, namely Basil Mukkadam, Karim Khayat, and Mark Daou. We will refrain from assessing their performances but we will state the plain results. Karim Khayat, who plays tennis, lost with a score of 6-4, 6-4. The best result among the Lebanese tennis players, who lost with worse scores than Karim's. Basil Mukkadam, who plays basketball, started from the bench and then firmly placed himself as a starter in the team. Mark Daou, a swimmer, participated in two races, coming first in his heat in the 100m backstroke, and second in his heat in the 50m breaststroke, in each race overcoming no less than three nations. In addition to the Lebanese delegation's competition schedule, the athletes in the delegation, along with the officials, made use of their free time by touring in China. The Forbidden City was the primary tourist attraction in Beijing. From this city 24 emperors ruled China. The second main attraction was The Great Wall of China. The wall is an hour and a half drive from Beijing, and is one of only two things that are man-made and can be seen from outer space.