CISM President Gianni Gola interviewed by China Military Online reporters. Photo by Sun Li

CISM President Gola confers CISM medals to excellent Chinese military athletes in the August 1 Building on August 10. Photo by Su Xiangdong

The opening ceremony of the CISM Village held at the August 1 Military Sports Group on the morning of August 7. Photo by Su Xiangdong

　　On August 14, Brigadier Gianni Gola, President of the International Military Sports Council (CISM), came to the CISM Village set up at the August 1 Military Sports Group of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, where he gladly gave an exclusive interview to China Military Online (www. chinamil.com.cn) reporters.

　　Throughout the Olympics history, the CISM Villages were only set up at the Rome Olympics in 1960, the Munich Olympics in 1972 and the Seoul Olympics in 1988. The aim of setting up the village is to provide servicemen athletes with a platform of exchange and communication during the Olympic Games.

　　Brigadier Gola expressed hearty appreciation to the Chinese armed forces and the Military Sports Group for the great efforts they made for establishing the CISM Village. He said: "I thank the Chinese armed forces and the Military Sports Group to restart this program and provide an opportunity for 131 CISM member states to gather in Beijing."

　　Brigadier Gola highly praised China's organizational work for the establishment of the CISM Village, saying that in order to set up the CISM Village, the August 1 Military Sports Group renovated its reception buildings and facilities so as to provide best board and lodging conditions to all delegations, demonstrating the warm hospitability of the Chinese armed forces and the Military Sports Group. He said that the CISM Village set up by the Chinese armed forces would be a role model for CISM Villages in the future.

　　On August 10, Brigadier Gola conferred medals to the Chinese military leaders, the Organizing Committee of the CISM Village, and excellent PLA athletes on behalf of the CISM. He said that the CISM highly appreciated the positive attitude taken by the relevant officials and personnel of the Chinese military for the development of the international military sports in China. In order to express his gratitude to the Chinese military in a concrete way, he decided to confer medals to the Chinese servicemen.

　　Learning that Xu Lei, a Chinese military pentathlon athlete who will take part in the World Military Pentathlon Championship, Brigadier Gola gave his best wishes to her. "She is an excellent military sports athlete. The Chinese Military Pentathlon Team is an excellent team and has already made outstanding achievements. As long as they are in best form in competition to bring out their best performances, they can continue to make new achievements. I heartily wish them every success!" he said.

　　One of the important purposes of Brigadier Gola's current visit to China is to watch the Beijing Olympic Games. He spoke highly of the organizational work of the Beijing Olympic Games. "I am especially impressed by the opening ceremony. It is excellent both in style and in performance. I started to be involved in the Olympics in 1972, thus I can exam and evaluate the Olympic Games with expert's eyes. The Beijing Olympic Games is really brilliantly organized."

　　(Aug 15, PLA Daily)                                      Editor: Dong Zhaohui