Sukma: Today’s last day wushu competition set to end with gold rush

KUCHING (Aug 16): Wushu is all about grace, speed, agility, poise, power and precision – simply pleasing to the eye.

Add to it the fact that 14 more gold medals will be on the line at the SSC Wushu Hall in Petra Jaya today and one will understand why all the state and Brunei contingents are fussing over the sport in the 21st edition of the Malaysia Games (Sukma).

The fight for (more) gold medals in wushu today will involve the disciplines of taolu for the men’s and women’s qiangshu; men’s and women’s gunshu; the sanda category involving 48 kilogrammes (kg), 52kg and 56kg (women); 52kg, 56kg, 60kg, 65kg and 70kg (men); and nandao (men and women).

The wushu competition, which began Wednesday and offers a total of 28 gold medals, ends today.

Meanwhile, there will be a total of 27 gold medals up for grabs today, including in taekwondo, cycling, lawn bowls and bowling.

Taekwondo, which kicks off at the Petra Jaya Unity Stadium here, offered five gold medals in the poomsae event, followed by two golds in the women’s mass start individual and team cycling events at the Pehin Sri Adenan Satem Highway.

All riders must endure a 108-kilometre (km) ride once they are flagged off at about 9am.

In addition, lawn bowls will see the athletes vying for four gold medals in men’s pairs, men’s triples, women’s singles and women’s fours at the Petra Jaya Lawn Bowls Arena.

Sukma 2024 offers 488 gold medals in total from 37 sports, with all events being held at 50 competition venues in nine divisions statewide, namely Kuching, Samarahan, Serian, Sri Aman, Betong, Sibu, Mukah, Bintulu and Miri.

Over 12,000 athletes from Malaysia and Brunei are competing in the biennial Games this time, with Sarawak hosting the Sukma for the third time after 1990 and 2016. – Bernama