Military World Games in China next year will include badminton, tennis, table tennis

Beijing, October 20

The 7^th International Military Games to be held in China next year that is expected to attract over 10,000 athletes from 100 countries will for the first time include badminton, tennis, table tennis and men’s gymnastics, Chinese military officials said.

The Chinese military will host the 7^th International Military Sports Council (CISM) Military World Games next year from October 18-27 in Wuhan, capital of country’s Hubei province.

While the event is expected to attract some 10,000 athletes from over 100 countries, the Chinese military said that it will field over 400 athletes.

The Military World Games is a multi-sport event for the armed forces being organised by CISM every four year since 1995. While India hosted the games in 2007, the last venue for the event was South Korea in 2015.

The games will see the biggest number of competition events ever, with more than 320 events over 27 categories to be held, Chinese defence ministry officials said on Wednesday.

Badminton, tennis, table tennis and men’s gymnastics would be included in the competition for the first time, it said.

Chinese athletes will take part in all the competitions except golf, the ministry said, adding that China has set up 29 sports teams to prepare for the games and the delegation would be officially finalised by end of the year. 

The venues for the games will be ready by end of April next year.

All the 35 venues for the games will be ready by the end of April next year, said Chen Ruifeng, an official with the city of Wuhan and secretary-general of the executive committee of the games.

“The city will speed up its process of modernisation and internationalisation. It will make sure citizens enjoy sustained benefit from the high-quality infrastructure,” Chen said. PTI