Sarawak’s wushu sanda athletes eye four Sukma gold medals

KUCHING (Aug 5):: Sarawak’s wushu sanda (free sparring) team are upbeat on contributing four gold medals to the Sarawak contingent in Sukma XXI Sarawak at the newly completed Wushu Training and Competition Centre at the Sarawak Sports Complex from Aug 13-16.

Sarawak sanda head coach Tsan Nieng Khai said the gold medals are expected to come from the men’s and women’s events.

“I expect the male athletes to deliver three golds and the women’s team to deliver one gold,” he told The Borneo Post.

Eight gold medals are up for grabs in the sanda (free sparring) competition which are men’s 52kg, 56kg, 60kg, 65kg, 70kg and women’s 48kg, 52kg and 56kg categories.

“We have entered all athletes in all events and, despite all of them making their debut appearances in Sukma, they are all ready to give their best shots,” Tsan revealed.

“The training had commenced on June 3 with three athletes who are based in Kuching and the rest joined the intensive training camp last month. We have moved to the Wushu Training and Competition Centre yesterday to get used to the conditions there,” he said when met at the Ibu Pertiwi flag presentation to the Sukma XXI Contingent at Raia Hotel and Convention Centre on Saturday.

Tsan picked Johor and Sabah to be the main threats to Sarawak’s medal hopes especially Johor who have sent their athletes to China for training and exposure stint.

To boost Sarawak’s chances of bagging gold in the sanda competition, the Wushu Federation of Sarawak had brought in a coach and a sparring coach from Shandong Province of China Zhou Yong Jie and Xu Chang Xiu.

“The athletes have been very committed and working very hard over two months of intensive training and I am pleased to see that they have not only improved much in physical fitness but also in combat skills.

“They may be lacking combat experience but I am confident that this can be overcome by training harder and working up a strategic plan and ensure that our athletes are able to face their opponents with confidence,” he added. – AFP