南方财经全媒体记者 李依农 实习生王欣桐 成都报道

As the first world-class sports event taking place in western China, the Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games has been attracting worldwide attention.

During the Chengdu Universiade, Gianni Merlo, president of the International Sports Press Association  (AIPS) shares his thoughts  with SFC reporter in an exclusive interview.

Merlo points out that even he has been in many other university games before,  the Chengdu 2021 FISU  Games is quite special. It is the first international step for Chengdu, and it also demonstrates how inclusive sport can be to bring people from different backgrounds together.

SFC Talk: You have covered so many major sports events. What impression do you have of Chengdu FISU games? Anything stands out in particular?

Gianni Merlo: I’ve seen the beginning of other university games before, and this one is special. It is a special edition because it’s the first international step for Chengdu. This is very important because from now Chengdu will be more on the map. Because for example, even for myself, before coming here in May, I didn’t know anything about Chengdu because it’s one of the big cities (that is) very well-known, perhaps in China, or in the area of Asia.

But in the Western world, in Europe, only a few people, if they didn't be here before, it was impossible for them to be here before. We know about the panda, but we have never put that relationship between the panda and Chengdu. When you arrive here, you are astonished because it is a very beautiful town. Modern, full of green, a lot of parks, flowers and trees everywhere. This is incredible. Coming even from Europe, it is very difficult to find such a city that's so green.

SFC Talk: The opening ceremony conveys the message of embracing openness and cooperation. In your opinion, what role does sport play in this regard?

Gianni Merlo: First of all, sport is always helping people to be together. Because in the sport, every time you put the young generation together, and this is important. It has a different meaning. Because, in this case, (it) unites the university in the world. This is a very important message for the future, and it was well received by the people.

SFC Talk: China has been putting a lot of effort into promoting a greater passion for sports and emphasizing the physical exercise of the younger generation throughout recent years.What's your take on that?

Gianni Merlo: I think China also has old traditions. The first time I came here in China, I was impressed, in the 1970s, 50 years ago, by the people that were doing gymnastics in the morning in the park. It is part of your culture. Another thing is to make other kinds of sport, not only the traditional (ones), (but) to make the sports grow in the country, so there are more people (who) can be all together, the generations to be together.

Because sport as a language is very good. It’s used by young kids till their grandfathers. They can talk together about sports. They can argue in football or in diving or everything. They can have different opinions, but they discuss. Because if you go now, in the modern era, in a bar, there are bars for the young, and there are bars for the old. This is not good for society because you must always mix the generation to have a better way of living.

SFC Talk: The Chengdu FISU Games have involved a lot of cutting-edge technologies. How do you envision the future of the sports fields adapting to the new development?

Gianni Merlo: Before, sport was always fighting to have the videos (and) to go on TV. Now it is not only TV, because there are people that from their stand; they send their images. Sport is important; it is growing. It is important that more people to play sports because even for their health. When you go to play sports, you make friends. You talk with other people. You are not isolated. 

Sport has the function to put people together, even from different levels of education and different levels of standard of life. Sport is the only one in which you put (people) together. If you go to a gym, you can find people of every kind of work. But sometimes, outside of the gym, they will never meet if they don't meet there. At any time, sport is always helping society to be more united.

SFC Talk: You have been in the sports field for many decades. We are curious where your passions for this career first come from? 

Gianni Merlo: Sport is really helpful, even for people to become more mature. When you play sports, first of all, you win sometimes. Some complex (feelings) that you have. Sometimes you don't feel sure of yourself. Before a competition, you feel nervous. You feel a lot of things. You don't sleep and so on. But sport is helping you after, to go to life in a different ways.

Personally, I have had one experience. When I was young, I was very emotional. Before a test or an exam in the school, I was very emotional. Thanks to sports, I changed completely. After (playing sports), I was able to go on an examination very focused without working with my emotion. This was very useful. I think that sport can help us in this (regard), to be more sure of yourself or to be confident, and to know what your limits are. Because the most important thing when you want to win a competition is to know what your limit is, and after in life, it is the same thing.

SFC Talk: What's your favorite sport?

Gianni Merlo: For (my) favorite sport, when I was young, my first sport was athletics. Later I was also playing football and basketball. These are the three in which I have performed, and I have a good knowledge about these. But I like all kinds of disciplines because every discipline has its philosophy. Also, in sports, people think that only the muscles that they are speaking, (but) it's not true, because there is strategy; there is the mind that is very important in sports more than what people think.

This is what we have to think about, and for this reason, it is something that will educate the people.

SFC Talk: FISU, AIPS and the host city together launched the Young Reporters Program. What's the importance of that? What advice would you give to young people who are eager to become better sports journalists?

Gianni Merlo: I began with my first project for young reporters in the Athletic World Championship in Goteborg, Sweden. Because I have received a lot from sports and from sports journalists, I wanted to give the possibility to others to be lucky as I was. So has begun my idea to help the young generation to have experience in a top event. Because for a young (reporter) to go to a top event, especially a multi-sport event as this, (it) is very important to understand how to work at the top level because you have top athletes here, and you can reach them.

There is the big zone. You begin to think in a different way. Sometimes to write on the bus coming from a place to another, you have to challenge many things. For this reason, I think that this is the better school on the field because only on the field you can learn everything about journalists.

策划：于晓娜    

监制：施诗

责任编辑：和佳

记者：李依农

字幕：杨雨莱 李依农 实习生王欣桐

制作：李群

设计：林军明

新媒体统筹：丁青云 曾婷芳 赖禧 黄达迅

海外运营监制: 黄燕淑

海外运营内容统筹: 张然 

海外运营编辑：唐双艳 吴婉婕

海外项目经理：庄欢

海外商务合作: 黄子豪

出品：南方财经全媒体集团