Exclusive: Crouin and Schmidt share excitement for Chengdu World Games

With the 2025 Chengdu World Games swiftly approaching, France's top squash player Victor Crouin and Australia's three-time Muay Thai world champion Yolanda Schmidt expressed their excitement and expectations for the upcoming event in Sichuan Province during an online roundtable discussion with Sports Scene's Zhu Mandan.

Crouin, eager to defend his World Games title, shared his enthusiasm for competing in front of local fans and voiced a desire to explore the vibrant host city outside the confines of the Athletes' Village during his downtime.

Schmidt echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the value of multi-sport events in fostering connections among athletes from diverse disciplines. She noted that such gatherings allow competitors to broaden their networks and learn from one another. In addition, Schmidt talked about her culinary curiosity, revealing her intention to enroll in a Chinese cooking class while in Chengdu to enhance her food preparation skills.

Scheduled for August 7-17, the 12th edition of the World Games will showcase 255 events across 60 disciplines and 34 sports, making the competition a monumental occasion as the first global sporting event hosted in western China since the 2023 Chengdu Universiade.