wushu
From multiple medals in the Asian region, the Philippine wushu team brought its act to the United States and conquered the world.
Mark Ragay, Mark Polo and Vincent Ventura dished out a performance to remember with a total score of 9.616 in the men’s duilian event, delivering the nation’s lone gold medal in the 16th World Wushu Championships on Tuesday in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Filipinos nipped Brunei’s Majdurano Joel Bin, Majallah Sain and Abel Wee Yuen Lim, who tallied 9.613, with Spain’s Nestor Urzainqui Milla, Aidan Pose Martinez and Victor dela Plaza Schineper collaring the bronze at 9.433.
“They executed to near perfection and showed what we Filipinos are capable of achieving,” said Wushu Federation of the Philippines president Freddie Jalasco.Prior to the only gold of Team Philippines, Jennifer Kilapio, Arnel Mandal and Clemente Tabugara collected three silver medals in the sanda, wushu’s combat event, on the same day.
These podium finishes jacked up the country’s medal tally to one gold, four silvers and one bronze after Agatha Wong’s second-place output in her favorite event, the women’s taijiquan.
Mandal shone brightest for the national wushu squad in the Asian Games two months ago in Hangzhou, China, with a silver while Tabugara and fellow sanda fighter Gideon Padua and Jones Inso of men’s taijijian brought home bronze medals.
“They got motivated with those medals. After the Asian Games, the confidence was really high,” said Jalasco.
Russel Diaz seized the single bronze in Texas in the men’s 48-kilogram sanda. INQ