CHENGDU, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) --The Germany men's water polo team ended a tough match against Georgia on Friday, failing to reach the semifinals.

"Although the game was hard, Chengdu is very relaxing," said German goalkeeper Felix Benke after the match.

Germany lost only one match in the men's water polo preliminaries. Facing fierce rivals Georgia, Germany did not take the lead in the opening game, trailing 2-0. However, they managed to prevent Georgia from widening the gap.

Until the final 16 seconds of the game, Germany still trailed by one point. Just as the clock was about to hit zero, Germany tied the score, sending the game into penalties.

Although Germany scored the first two goals in the first round of the penalty shootout, Georgia did not give up, and it ended in a tie. Then, in the second round, Georgia beat Germany.

"The game was intense, and both sides played well. Of course, I also hope to visit other parts of Chengdu next," said Benke.

This was Benke's first visit to Chengdu, and in and around the Universiade Village, he felt the charm of the city. "The food here is very diverse, I really love Chinese food," said the 20-year-old player.

The rich activities in Universiade Village made Benke feel relaxed outside of the competition. At night, he and his teammates often went to the fair in the Village, where they enjoyed Chinese culture, such as paper-cutting.

Benke's teammate Zoran Bozic also enjoyed his time in Chengdu. "It's really nice here in Chengdu, in China. I am really enjoying it here. Everything is well-prepared. It's fantastic, really," he said.

"In addition to the competition, I also hope to see the architecture of Chengdu, which has many great attractions, including the giant pandas," said Benke.

Although the goalkeeper has to prepare for the European Championships, he still plans to return to China and visit other cities.

"Water polo is not very popular in Germany, but I want to participate in the Olympics and be the best goalkeeper. Chengdu has given me a lot of experience, which helps me realize my dream," said Benke.

Zhu Aiyu, a member of the German women's gymnastics team, is no stranger to China. Her father is from Nanjing, the capital city of China's Jiangsu province, so she has been to China three times before. "I think China is very good, especially the people here are very nice," she said.

German athlete Lou Massenberg, who won a silver medal in diving, also mentioned being impressed by the large venues in Chengdu. "I took the subway, and it is great. I really enjoyed my time here," he said.

The next Universiade will be hosted in Germany, and the German delegation is very interested in how Chengdu is doing.

"We try to learn from the organization because until now, we found everything here so perfectly organized. It's really amazing," said Ines Lenze, vice head of the German delegation. Enditem

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