China puts rookies to test at World Universiade in Germany

China unveiled its 220-member delegation for the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games in Germany on Tuesday with most of the athletes making their debuts at the global university students gala.

The 120 athletes will compete in 14 sports across more than 90 disciplines. However, the team will not participate in wheelchair basketball - making its debut as an official Universiade sport - nor in fencing, water polo, or rowing.

Among the standout athletes are 24-year-old Liang Yushuai, the men's 68kg taekwondo bronze medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics, and 21-year-old Shu Heng, who won the men's long jump gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships in May.

Just about 30 athletes competed in the previous edition of the Universiade, held in Chengdu in 2023. The squad has an average age of 21.9, with athletes ranging from 18 to 25 years old.

All athletes are undergoing a 15-day training camp in preparation for the Games, which will be held from July 16 to 27 across six cities: Berlin, Hagen, Bochum, Duisburg, Essen, and Mulheim an der Ruhr.

According to Liu Lixin, president of the China Student Sports Federation, Team China sees the event as a platform for promoting friendship and cultural exchange between Chinese youth and their peers from around the world.

Germany, the host nation, has announced its largest-ever team for what will be the country's most significant multi-sport event in over half a century.

Team Germany will aim for medals in all 18 sports. Among its top athletes is 24-year-old Antonia Kinzel, a student at HS Mannheim and the defending FISU Games champion in the women's discus.

Also headlining the squad is Elisa Mevius, a rising star from the University of Oregon's 3x3 basketball team. A gold medalist at the Paris 2024 Games with the German women's squad, the 21-year-old is now eager to repeat her success on home soil.

Russian and Belarusian students will compete as neutral athletes in line with FISU guidelines.