Wong bags second PH gold, rules swordplay

AGATHA Chrystenzen Wong made up for the stinging loss of top Filipino bet Ken Alieson Omengan by dominating the 15-under individual sword competition Thursday night in the 7th Asian junior wushu championships at Makati Coliseum.

The narrow-framed 15-year-old Wong worked seamlessly with the sword and dazzled in the 32-form taijijian to score 9.31 points, beating rivals from Vietnam and South Korea for the gold medal.

“This victory means a lot to me because this is my first gold in international competition,” said Wong, a high school senior at College of Holy Spirit.

She defeated Vietnam’s Tran Kieu Trang (9.21) and Korea’s Choi Yujeong (9.20) to give the Philippines its second gold, surpassing its one-gold, two-silver harvest two years ago.

Dave Degala, who was part of the gold-winning exhibition team, snared a silver in the 18-under changquan (long fist). He scored 8.88 to finish behind Macau’s Lee Hoi Tan (8.92) and ahead of Kazakhstan’s Adlet Tolebi (8.52).

Their triumphs helped cushion the shock defeat of Omengan who was expected to pick up his second gold but instead faltered to eighth place in 18-under nangun (southern fist).

China, from where the sport originated, stayed on top with four golds as Wang YaWen ruled the 15-under girls changquan.