SEA Games 2023: Wushu golds slips from their grasp but S’pore’s Jowen Lim, Tay Yu Xuan see silver lining
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Singapore's Jowen Lim narrowly missing out on gold in the men's changquan final at the wushu competition on May 12.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
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PHNOM PENH – They may have both missed out on wushu golds by slim margins on Friday, but neither Jowen Lim nor Tay Yu Xuan betrayed any disappointment in their SEA Games campaigns.
Lim, 24, scored 9.67 points in the men’s changquan event and was on course to claim the title until Indonesia’s reigning world champion Edgar Xavier Marvelo, the penultimate performer in the 14-man field, scored 9.713 to overtake the Singaporean.
Lim, who fell short by 0.001 points in this event at the Hanoi Games in 2022, said there was no heartbreak this time.
After all, he had beaten Marvelo to capture the daoshu and gunshu combined event on Thursday to end his gold drought dating back to the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Games.
He said: “Overall, I’m pretty happy with my performances here. I had three routines without any mistakes or point deductions. I’m proud of that.
“The level is getting better and better every year. Everyone now is able to do two-round jumps as part of their routine. You can see how close the Malaysian (Wong Weng Son was third on 9.666) was to me.”
It was a similar narrow margin for Tay, who had to settle for the silver in the men’s taijiquan and taijijian combined event.
He scored 19.119 points to finish just behind Hosea Wong, his rival from their Asian Junior days. The Bruneian won gold with 19.189 with Malaysian Tan Zhi Yan (18.940) third.
Singapore’s taijijian champion from the 2022 Games, Chan Jun Kai, finished fifth with 18.542 points.
Games rookie Tay, 21, rued the small mistakes, like not fully straightening his leg, which he said cost him precious points.
But getting onto the podium was more than he had hoped for when he arrived at Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changvar International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The Nanyang Technological University communications undergraduate added: “This was a really good learning experience and hopefully it’ll prepare me for big competitions later this year.”
For Lim, the Hangzhou Asian Games in September is firmly on his radar. He was fourth at the 2018 edition in the daoshu and gunshu combination – his pet event, ending 0.01 points behind bronze medallist Achmad Hulaefi of Indonesia.
Lim said: “I can’t wait for another opportunity to get that medal.”
The Republic’s other wushu gold in Cambodia came courtesy of Kimberly Ong, who retained her women’s daoshu and gunshu combined event crown.
The team finished with two golds, three silvers and a bronze, a similar tally to the Vietnam edition in 2022.
