Teacher Vera Tan and pupil Charlotte Ng victorious at World Taijiquan Championships

SINGAPORE – When she was nine, Charlotte Ng learnt taijiquan from national wushu exponent Vera Tan.

In a poignant moment eight years later, master and pupil both topped the podium on the final day of the World Taijiquan Championships at OCBC Arena on Aug 27.

Charlotte posted a score of 9.160 to finish first among the five athletes in the women’s third set taijiquan (39 movements). Malaysia’s Kwan Yong Xin (9.023) and American Priscilla Zou (9.010) claimed the silver and bronze respectively.

The 17-year-old student from the Singapore Sports School attributed her victory to her good execution of a 180-degree spinning kick before a one-leg landing.

She said: “Vera used to coach me and it feels quite crazy to be competing and winning alongside her.

“I had a good mentality and was able to remain calm and relaxed to deliver my best performance today. This is my first senior international competition and my best result, and I hope to get good scores in the Sept 22-30 World Junior Wushu Championships in Brunei, and go on to represent Singapore in major Games like Vera is doing.”

Later in the day, Tan beat 14 pugilists to clinch gold in the women’s new yang style taijiquan with a score of 9.203, while Malaysian Mandy Chen (9.173) and fellow Singaporean Cholene Aw (9.120) took silver and bronze respectively. The 26-year-old said: “I remember coaching Charlotte back then and I feel very happy for her. I used to be in her shoes, competing in an international meet at a young age with a bundle of nerves.

“This time, I was the nervous one watching her compete, and I’m proud that she managed to do well here, and we have a young generation of wushu athletes, Charlotte being one of them, who are very promising.”

For Tan, this is her third medal at the championships after her optional taijijian gold on Aug 25 and optional taijiquan bronze a day earlier.

She said: “I feel very happy and a sense of relief because I’ve waited 10 years to compete in this competition after taking part in the first edition (and winning the optional taijiquan gold) in 2014, missing the second and third editions, and especially because I’m competing in front of family, friends and a home crowd this time.”

On Aug 27, Singapore also picked up medals in other disciplines as Chan Jun Kai claimed a men’s new chen style taijiquan silver with a score of 9.143 behind Hong Kong’s Samuei Hui (9.156). Vietnam’s Pham Nguyen Hoai Nam (9.096) took the bronze.

Teammates Jolie Goh and Ng Zhe Nin had a one-two finish in the women’s 42 movements taijiquan, while Lim Che How placed first in the men’s chen style taijiquan and Teo Yu Xuan finished third in the women’s sun style taijiquan (73 movements). However, no medals were awarded as these are demonstration routine events.

Over the four days of competition, Singapore won five golds, four silvers and five bronzes to rank third out of 32 nations and territories. Hong Kong were top with 11 golds, seven silvers and two bronzes, while China placed second with 10 golds.