YOG will boost 2022 bid: chief

A successful Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Nanjing in August will boost Beijing and Zhangjiakou's joint bid for the 2022 Winter Games, Xiao Tian, deputy head of the -General -Administration of Sport of -China, said Thursday at the -100-day countdown to the games.

"If we can witness a successful Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, it will give a big boost to our bid for the 2022 Winter Games," Xiao told a news conference in Beijing.

Xiao said most of the 106 -International Olympic Committee (IOC) members will come to the Nanjing event, which means China has -another opportunity to demonstrate its ability to host a global Olympic event well after the 2008 Beijing Games.

"I'm confident Nanjing will carry out an excellent event," Xiao said.

Besides the Chinese joint bid, Oslo in Norway, Krakow in Poland, Lviv in Ukraine and Almaty in Kazakhstan are the other applicant cities.

The host city of the 2022 winter event is set to be announced at the IOC session to be held in July 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Nanjing event is the -second Summer Youth Games after Singapore hosted the maiden edition in 2010.

Yang Weize, executive president of the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee, said Nanjing will keep their budget lower than the cost of the Singapore event.

"The Nanjing Games will outnumber Singapore on the scale of the event and the participants, but we will keep the budget low," Yang told -reporters. "Singapore has been the example for us since our bid. We will do what we can to come in 10 percent lower than their actual budget."

Singapore increased their budget to $284 million, more than three times the original $75.5 million.

With Hanoi pulling out as the host of the 2019 Asian Games, cities from China have become expected options. But Xiao said no Chinese -cities have made an inquiry into hosting the Asian Games, also known as the Asiad.

"Personally I feel regret for Vietnam quitting," Xiao said "I haven't received any Chinese city's petition for bidding on the Asian Games, and the Olympic Council of Asia has not made any contact with the Chinese Olympic Committee yet."

However, Yang expressed his hope that Nanjing be considered an option.

"Nanjing is capable of doing that since we can even hold the Youth Olympic Games," Yang said. "We can take the responsibility if it is needed."

Yang's comment quickly sparked discontent among residents who berated the Nanjing Communist Party chief for making a rash commitment.

Some microblog users argued Yang didn't have the right to make the decision himself. Others complained that preparations for the youth games had -interrupted their normal life enough already.