SINGAPORE - Singapore's wushu exponents have flown out of the blocks in the first day of wushu competitions at the SEA Games, with a haul of three golds, one silver and one bronze at the Singapore Expo Hall on Saturday.
Vera Tan, 17, secured the first gold in the women's taijiquan compulsory event in the afternoon, and Yong Yi Xiang followed up shortly with another gold in the men's changquan event.
The men's duilian trio of Jesse Colin Adalia, Lee Zhe Xuan and Jowen Lim completed a hat-trick of gold in the men's weapon duilian, scoring 9.72 points ahead of Philippines and Brunei, both on 9.68.
The women's duilian duo of Zoe Mui and Emily Sin narrowly missed out on making it four gold medals on the first day. Their score of 9.68 meant they finished second to Myanmar's 9.69.
Vera scored 9.69 to see off Malaysia's Chan Lu Yi, who scored 9.65. The other local representative in the event, 17-year-old Ho Lin Ying, settled for bronze with a score of 9.64.
In the changquan event, Yong's score of 9.70 was enough to see him edge out Indonesia's Aldy Lukman, who scored 9.69. Yong's team-mate Tay Wei Sheng finished 10th with a score of 9.43.
Yong said: "I am very surprised now because I have never defeated my opponents in this event before. I felt as if I was in control of myself today, and I performed up to my usual levels in training."
The haul means that the Singapore team have already surpassed their gold medal tally of one from the 2013 Games, which was secured by Vera and Valerie Wee in the women's weapon duilian event.
Vera said: "I really enjoyed the atmosphere, and it was very heartening to have such support. Although it was a bit distracting, I managed to focus to execute my moves.
"I am happy with today's results, but I have two more upcoming events, so I will continue to work hard."
