Company Special: Youth Olympic Games set to share sporting spirit

The Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing are only several days away. The city is set to welcome the Olympic torch as it makes its journey across the world through a series of events.

Lin Dan, world champion badminton player and ambassador for Coca-Cola's enhanced hydration brand Shui Dong Le, and 30 other torchbearers chosen by the company made their way to the iconic Nanjing City Wall carrying the spirit of the Olympics on August 8.

Coca-Cola Greater China & Korea BU President Henrique Braun attended the event. Lin was the 29th torchbearer and the relay ended at the grand Gate of China, a famed historical site in the city.

Lin Dan and Coca-Cola Greater China & Korea BU President Henrique Braun attended the torch relay event on August 8. Photo provided to China Daily

Spectators joined in the shared celebration of youth and saw for themselves the continuation of the legacy of the Olympic spirit to a new generation of athletes and young people from around the world.

After the torch relay, Shen Xinhua, sales and marketing director of Coca-Cola Nanjing bottling plant spoke to the press with Lin and four other torchbearers.

The press conference doubled as a meet-the-press session for the celebrity athlete and everyone said they wished the best for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

Shen presented Lin with a specially made Yun brocade, which was embroidered with a bi xie, an imaginary animal that looks like a lion. Yun brocade is one of the four greatest brocades in China. The figure represents Nanjing and was used as a ward against evil in ancient times.

The brocade was meant to mirror the spirit of sporting excellence and the company hopes that as an outstanding athlete, Lin can help spread this sporting spirit around the world.

Lin took the opportunity to share his ideas about sport spirit and stories of how he learnt to enjoy sports when he was young.

"Through the many competitions that I took part in as a young boy, I made a lot of friends with people from China and all over the world. Although we were fierce competitors on court, we were firm friends off the court, sharing our stories and inspirations that brought out the joy in sports," Lin said.

He added that the Youth Olympic Games provides a great platform for young people all over the world to communicate and to interact. "The important impact it has on educational and cultural interactions is more vital than the competition performance," he said.

Shen presented Lin and five torchbearers with commemorative medals modeled on Olympic medals.

The medals were designed to signify the role of promoting the Youth Olympics Games as a platform of mutual exchange and understanding between youths all over the world.

The medals also signify a new meaning for the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games - the responsibility of sharing dreams should be carried by world champion athletes but also ordinary young citizens.

The 2014 Summer Youth Olympics will kick off on August 16, and the closing ceremony will be held on August 28.

The Youth Olympic Games is a global sporting platform for youths all over the world to compete on and it has its own unique objectives and philosophy. The target age group is from 14 to 18 and the torch relay is a focal event of the Games, which promotes exchanges and friendships between young people.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn