Jet-propelled Singapore wushu exponents claim record haul at World Taijiquan C’ships

SINGAPORE – Buoyed by a visit from taiji master and action movie star Jet Li in March, Singapore’s 11 wushu exponents registered a record haul of seven gold, three silver and six bronze medals at the World Taijiquan Championships in Burgas, Bulgaria.

The tally, which put the Republic fourth out of 15 countries and territories in the medal table after four days of competition from April 26 to 29 – behind Hong Kong (9-7-4), China (9-1-0) and Vietnam (8-4-9) – is an improvement on their 5-4-5 record in 2024 when the event was held on home soil.

Cholene Aw, 17, was Singapore’s breakout star in the latest edition.

Not only was she crowned world champion for the first time, but she also collected three gold medals in the women’s 24-movement taijiquan, 32-movement taijijian and new standardised yang-style taijiquan for her age group.

The River Valley High School student picked up wushu at age six as a recreational activity. She later competed and increased her weekly training load to six or seven sessions with the national youth team and an external academy.

Through the years, her improvement has been evident as she clinched a women’s third set taijijian silver and a new yang-style taijiquan bronze at the 2024 World Taijiquan Championships.

In March, she picked up a girls’ youth taijijian silver at the World Junior Wushu Championships in China before her golden hat-trick.

An “extremely grateful” Cholene told The Straits Times: “It feels very surreal to be able to bag three gold medals this time round, especially since it is my first time winning a world championship title.

“What I really love about wushu is the few minutes you have on stage to show off your skills, and the best part of competing is always meeting new people and making new friends who share the same passion as me.

“This is my last year in the junior age category, so one of my goals is definitely progress in my optional routines.

“It requires more effort and a deeper understanding of taiji. From perfecting my difficulty jumps to matching the choreography to the music, there is a lot of room for improvement moving forward.”

National wushu taolu senior coach Zhang Feng was pleased with Cholene’s growth and performance.

He said: “On the competition carpet, she demonstrated exceptional composure and a strong foundation in her basic taiji skills.

“Looking ahead, these three gold medals mark a strong starting point. In the next phase of training, we will work on guiding her transition to the optional taijiquan routines, which are the senior competition routines.

“We will focus on helping her refine the expressiveness of her movements and her difficulty movements. We hope she will stay true to her passion and continue to showcase her abilities on the international stage, bringing honour to the nation.”

The other Singaporean world champions crowned in Bulgaria were Tay Yu Xuan, who won the men’s sun-style 73-movement taijiquan gold; Vera Tan, who won the women’s new yang-style taijiquan; and Zeanne Law.

While Law could not defend her taijiquan gold from 2024, finishing just sixth, she managed to retain her taijishan gold and bagged another win in the taijijian.

She shared that she has learnt to trust in herself more through the ups and downs, which include world championship victories and a barren SEA Games outing in 2025.

The 23-year-old said: “The good and bad moments make up who I am and I’m grateful for such experiences.

“What I’ve learnt from past competitions is to trust myself more and to trust the process that got me here.

“I’ve trained hard and extensively but I’ll still doubt myself sometimes. So this is something that I’m still working on and hoping to improve in the long run.”

Taiji is a traditional Chinese martial art that combines slow, controlled movements with explosive strength, jumping, balance and agility. Quan events involve the use of fists, while jian and shan events feature the sword and fan respectively.

One famous proponent of taiji is Li, who is also a master of other Chinese martial art styles. The China-born Singaporean visited the Singapore Wushu Dragon & Lion Dance Federation on March 21 for the inaugural World Taijiquan Day, and inspired local athletes through his interaction with them.

Law said: “Jet Li reminded us that practising taiji should be something we truly enjoy. When you fully immerse yourself in it, that’s when your performance can really resonate with others.

“Despite the complexities of the sport, I always try to stay present and enjoy the process as much as I can.”

Federation president Ang Mong Seng added: “Our athletes were greatly inspired by the recent filming with Jet Li. That energy is reflected in these results. While our athletes continue to work hard for their remaining events, we are already looking toward the future.

“Next year, we aim to build on this success in taiji by organising a large-scale taiji event to engage the wider community.”