By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
The South Korean city of Gwangju lost out to Russia's Kazan in its bid to host the 2013 Universiade, or World Student Games, after an International University Sports Federation (FISU) vote in Brussels, Belgium, Sunday.
Kazan, the capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, was announced as the winning bid after securing the majority of the votes from FISU's 27-member executive committee.
The sporting body didn't release the vote results.
``We had full support of our government and the Gwangju citizens displayed their enthusiasm to host the Universiade," said Gwangju Mayor Park Gwang-tae after the FISU vote.
``We did our best but that wasn't good enough. I don't know what to say to our citizens," he said.
The southwestern Korean city had been competing in a three-way race with Kazan and the Spanish resort city of Vigo to win the rights to host the Unviersiade.
The Universiade is the world's second-largest sporting event in size, trailing only the Olympics, as it involves more than 10,000 athletes from about 170 countries. Daegu became the first Korean city to host the games in 2003.
Gwangju had hoped that its advanced infrastructure, centered around a state-of-the-art football stadium and other sporting venues at 16 local universities and colleges, and its wealth of experience in hosting international events, such as the Gwangju Biennale, would provide a competitive edge over rival candidates.
However, Kazan's persistence ― finally prevailing on its third Universiade bid ― and strong government support promised by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proved as decisive factors.
Gwangju officials have yet to discuss whether to submit another bid for the 2015 event, Park said.