International Boxing Association (AIBA) President Wu Ching-Kuo said on Wednesday night that he was "very satisfied" with the international-level facilities of the Worker's Gymnasium and the "excellent service" the staff and volunteers have been offering.
He also pledged further reforms within AIBA.
Wu told Xinhua that he considered the Worker's Gymnasium "an ideal place" to hold boxing competitions, since it is round-shaped like an amphitheater, so the audience can all see the show in the middle from a perfect angle, no matter where he or she sits. Besides, having 13,000 seats means it can hold as many boxing fans as possible, said Wu.
The president was also quite satisfied with the preparation, organization and service that the staff and volunteers have been offering. He offered his "heartfelt thanks" to the volunteers, saying to them: "I believe now you'll remember the Games, and the Games will remember you."
According to deputy media manager of the gymnasium Yu Huiming, there are currently 16 media service staff and 74 volunteers working round-the-clock to provide service and support to reporters, including reception, interpretation, contacting athletes and officials for interviews, providing shuttle buses, and sometimes acting like tour guides, even buying mobile phones for reporters, which is quite a handful of work, said Yu.
During the interview, Wu said that he believed the judges' scoring in the Olympic competition was fair. He said he would push forward the ongoing reforms within AIBA to make it more "transparent and just", so that boxing can survive better and longer.
According to him, AIBA will propose to the International Olympic Committee to include women's boxing in the 2012 Olympic Games, and is going to change the four rounds of two minutes into three rounds of three minutes starting the beginning of next year.
AIBA also is going to set up the professional boxing system in the near future and try to bring AIBA pros into the Olympic competition, said the president.
(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2008)