BEIJING—Reigning world champion Willy Wang powered the Philippines to a strong start at the Beijing Olympic Games wushu competition here Thursday with a front-running first-day score in the taolu event at the Olympic Sports Center.

Marian Mariano later overpowered Sweden’s Shiellen Ottus on round scores of 4-0 and 5-0 to reach the quarterfinals of the 60 kg class and touch off the four-member national squad’s campaign in the sanshou (fighting) competition.

The competition is a special event of the 29th Olympiad here and ends on Aug. 24.

The medals awarded here are separate from those of the Olympics’ regular events.

Wang, at 5-foot-5 one of the shortest entries in his event, ranked first with 9.74 points after the bare forms (no weapon) competition and led the entry from Brazil by a mere .02. The entry from Macau lay third on 9.71 followed by the Chinese Taipei bet on 9.70.

As First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, husband of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo watched in the gallery, Wang showed the form that won him the gold in the Good Luck Beijing World Wushu Championships last year, also in the Chinese capital.

The Filipino’s dazzling, well-applauded kung fu moves left the area around his mouth pinkish red at the end of the three-minute compulsory routine.

When the score of the black-and-gold clad Wang was flashed on the scoreboard, he barely managed a grin due to exhaustion.

“Willy showed why he’s the man to beat in taolu,” said national wushu president Julian Camacho. “He’s unbeatable in the no-weapons segment.”

Mary Jane Estima and Benjie Ramos plunge into action in their respective weight class in sanshou Friday.

Mariano, shorter by almost four inches to her Swedish foe, completely dominated both rounds with well-timed punches. She grabbed and hauled Ottus out of the mat to close out the final round, 5-0.