FORT WORTH, Texas – The 16th World Wushu Championships (WWC) came to an end on Nov 20 in Fort Worth, Texas with China topping the gold medal tally with 15.
Their athletes garnered seven golds in taolu (set routine) and eight in sanda (sparring) in various weight categories.
Vietnam finished second for the first time since 2005 in Hanoi with five golds, three silvers and three bronzes, while Macau was just behind with five golds, two silvers and four bronzes.
China also topped the overall tally with 15, followed by Vietnam, Macau, Malaysia and Indonesia each on a total 11 medals.
Singapore concluded their outing with two more silvers medals on the final day, courtesy of Kimberly Ong in the women’s gunshu (cudgel), and Ong, Zeanne Law and Zoe Tan in the women’s duilian (choreographed sparring). Law had earlier won the taijiquan gold while Jowen Lim won the men’s gunshu.
The Republic notched their best-ever outing at the tournament with two golds, four silvers and two bronzes to finish fifth out of 62 teams in another best for the contingent.
Asian countries and regions dominated the competition, sweeping the top 10 in the gold medal list.
Hong Kong were fourth with three medals of each colour, while the rest were Malaysia (1-6-4), the Philippines (1-4-1), Indonesia (1-3-7), South Korea and Chinese Taipei (both 1-2-1).
Among European teams, Italy performed best, ranking 11th with one gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
Yao Yang of Shanxi, China, who took gold in the women’s jianshu event, appeared shy under the spotlight.
“I’m grateful to my coach for his guidance and help all the time, especially for relieving my nervousness before the competition so that I can perform to my best level,” she told Xinhua.
“I’m proud to bring back to France the silver medal,” said men’s 75kg sanda athlete Yoan Benbedra.
However, the nine-time French champion said he was sad for missing out on the gold, after having struggled to recover from a leg injury sustained in October at the World Combat Games in Riyadh.
“It blows my mind to see those talents from around the world. They stand so high,” remarked Zac Ladkin of Britain, who was taking part in the WWC for the first time.
“It is amazing. This is the highest level in the world. We have a good trained team to represent our country. I am so happy to be here,” Edinea Prado Camargo, a 34-year-old sanda athlete representing Brazil, told Xinhua, adding that she was happy that the next WWC will be held in her country’s capital, Brasilia.
“My dream came true,” she said, “I have been dreaming about that. I hope the World Wushu Championships could someday be held in my country, then I can invite my family and friends to watch.”
During the championships, International Wushu Federation secretary-general Zhang Qiuping told Xinhua that the organisation plans to introduce advanced AI technology into international martial arts competitions by 2026, in a bid to overcome language barriers and enhance the objectivity and authority of the scoring mechanism. XINHUA
