(ATR) Basketball star Yao Ming says the Beijing 2022 bid is a "great opportunity" to take sport in China to another level.
He was one of six Chinese athletes announced Tuesday as ambassadors of the Winter Olympic bid.
Skaters Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, multiple aerial skiing champion Li Nina, Sochi 2014 gold medalist in long-track speed skating Zhang Hong and Hou Bin, Paralympic high jump champion, also voiced their support for the bid at an event at Beijing 2022's bid headquarters.
Vice president of the bid Zhang Jiandong and secretary general of the Chinese Olympic Committee, Song Luzeng, were among Olympic executives in attendance.
"I think the Beijing 2022 bid is a great opportunity," said Yao Ming, whose time at the NBA Houston Rockets made him a global star.
"Beijing already has some good experience as an Olympic host and good infrastructure from 2008. Beijing 2022 would bring it all to a new level and make more people understand sport and be involved. It is very important, as sport is more than just a physical competition, it is a way to forge character and discipline."
Zhang Hong, who secured China’s first ever Olympic gold in speed skating at the Sochi 2014 Games, commented: "Chinese people are getting increasingly passionate about winter sports, and I can only imagine how great the atmosphere would be if China were to host Winter Olympics in 2022."
Beijing 2022 said the six athletes "actively participated" in the development of its Winter Games bid plans "to ensure that all athletes’ needs are met".
In the build-up to the IOC vote in Kuala Lumpur on July 31, their role will be to continue driving public enthusiasm for the bid in China and worldwide.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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