China News Service, Beijing, November 5th. Title: Chinese youth show their style and enhance understanding through the Youth Olympic Games.
Reporter Zhang Su
The 2026 Dakar Summer Youth Olympic Games is in full swing. In the past few days, the Chinese youth team has won gold and silver, and has continued to make breakthroughs in martial arts, swimming, rowing, judo and other events.
At this Youth Olympic Games, martial arts has become an official competition event in the Olympic series for the first time. Chinese teenager Lin Yilei performed perfectly in the men's Changquan all-around finals, with smooth and stable movements and perfect completion quality, successfully winning the first martial arts gold medal in the history of Olympic events.
"Wushu's entry into the Olympics for the first time has realized our dream. Behind it is the efforts of generations of martial arts workers." Lin Yilei's coach Zheng Jutian said after the game.
In Lin Yilei's heart, martial arts is not only a competitive event, but also a bond of communication. "Martial arts can become a bridge connecting young people from different countries and regions, allowing the world to see the wisdom of the East." He said that he hopes to use the platform of the Youth Olympic Games to convey the harmonious spirit contained in martial arts to young people around the world.
The Dakar Youth Olympic Games also carries special significance. The Youth Olympic Games held here are not only the first time that the Olympic series events have landed in Africa, but also provide a venue for the encounter and dialogue between Chinese and African youths.
Speaking of the feeling of running with a torch in Dakar a few days ago, Chinese young man Liu Chuandong was filled with emotion.
"Young people from different countries have established connections while running side by side and communicating." He said that regardless of skin color or national boundaries, young people can always find resonance in their common love.
Liu Chuandong, 30, was born in Dazhou, Sichuan and grew up in Shanwei, Guangdong. He is a jewelry live broadcast practitioner. With the approval of the Dakar Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee, he became a torchbearer. Liu Chuandong believes that as long as you work hard, you can make ordinary things extraordinary. This time, from the Xiaoyifang live broadcast station to the Youth Olympic Games torch relay runway, he told foreign friends about the craftsmanship and industry behind jewelry and conveyed the beauty of Chinese culture.
In fact, the Youth Olympic Games is not only the ladder for new generation athletes to reach the adult Olympic arena, but also has become a platform for young people from all over the world to show their style and enhance understanding.
"It's great that young people get together. They know each other, leave contact information with each other, and communicate together." Mamadou Dianya Ndiaye, chairman of the Dakar Youth Olympic Organizing Committee, said that in his view, this is not a battlefield of victory or defeat, but a stage of victory and life.
According to reports, during the current Youth Olympic Games, the Youth Olympic Sports Interactive Experience Zone located on the Corniche in the west of Dakar attracted many young people. Here, people come into contact with different sports and experience the charm of the Olympics through interactive and experiential activities.
Some commentators believe that the grand event will eventually come to an end, but the encounter across mountains and seas will be remembered for a long time.
"The torch relay is not only a fire, but also cross-border exchanges and resonance among young people." Liu Chuandong told reporters that he will continue to devote himself to public welfare undertakings, "based on his heart and down to earth."
