SINGAPORE – A typical day in the life of wushu exponent Zeanne Law is nothing short of fast and furious.
The Singapore Sports School final-year student attends lessons from 8am and, between her classes, she zips off to work on her technique in one of the school’s dedicated training areas for martial arts.
By evening, the 18-year-old travels from Woodlands, where her school is, to national training in Bedok. And once training ends, she commutes back to campus, where she squeezes in a little time for revision before heading to bed.
Law’s tireless dedication to her craft led to her being crowned women’s taijiquan world champion at the World Wushu Championships in Texas last November.
Her efforts have also been recognised by the International Wushu Federation (IWUF), who named her the 2023 Wushu Taolu Rising Star of the Year on Jan 23.
The title was determined by public voting, with Law garnering 56,405 votes to pip fellow finalist, Ukrainian Alina Krysko, who received 55,993 votes.
Law said: “It is very heart-warming to know that there are that many people who support me.
“I did not expect to win but I am very thankful. Most importantly, to me it is an acknowledgement of all the hard work that I have been putting in.
“It has not been easy, especially in 2023 because I was doing my best to juggle between my studies and wushu. This motivates me to work even harder.”
The past year was a real test for Law. She prepped for the world championships while also studying for one half of her International Baccalaureate examinations.
The Sports School allows eligible student-athletes to stretch the completion of their IB diploma programme longer than the usual two years, in order to balance their sports training and academic requirements.
“In fact, I would say I made my studies a priority and that whole period was hectic and difficult. I often felt fatigued,” said Law.
“But, at the end of the day, I am fortunate to be at the Sports School where I am given the best of both worlds.”
Nominations for the award – designed to recognise outstanding wushu athletes as excellent role models and to encourage more wushu talents to contribute to the sport’s development – opened last November.
Each IWUF member association could nominate three female athletes and three male athletes for categories such as Wushu Taolu Athlete of the Year, Wushu Sanda Athlete of the Year, Traditional Wushu Athlete of the Year, Traditional Wushu Rising Star of the Year and Wushu Taolu Rising Star of the Year.
Finalists were announced on Dec 15, with voting open till Jan 15. Taolu means set routine, while sanda refers to sparring.
Jowen Lim, who won a gold and silver at the World Championships and an unprecedented wushu silver at the 2023 Asian Games, was second in the Wushu Taolu Athlete of the Year voting.
He had 11,948 votes while winner Lu Xiangcheng of China had 44,349 votes.
National coach Zhang Feng said the award was deserved, given that Law has been “an athlete who has been training very hard and focused for a long time”.
He added: “I hope Zeanne will take this award as an opportunity to continue working hard, stay focused, and complete well at every competition this year.”
With the boost from the award, Law hopes to be able to excel in three major competitions in 2024.
Law, who made her debut at a major competition at the Hanoi SEA Games in 2022 at the age of 16, will compete in August’s World Taijiquan Championships in Singapore, the Asian Wushu Championships in September in Macau and Taolu World Cup in Japan in October.
She has already pictured the perfect swansong, saying: “To win a gold medal at the 2029 SEA Games on home soil. That is the perfect closure. That would be the dream.”
