STERLING PERFORMANCE: Diana Bong won a gold medal and two silvers at the recent 8th Asian Wushu championship held in Vietnam last week. The 26-year-old exponent from Sungai Tapang, Kota Sentosa helped Malaysia to bring home two gold, seven silver and three bronze medals.
Exponent wins gold, two silver medals at 8th Asian Wushu championship
KUCHING: National wushu exponent Diana Bong Siang Lin shone at the 8th Asian Wushu Championship in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam when she helped Malaysia win two gold, seven silver and three bronze medals.
The 26-year-old exponent from Sungai Tapang, Kuching was in her element to win the gold medal in the women’s nanquan and the silver medals in the nandao and nangun events.
Malaysia’s other gold was won by Tan Cheau Xuen in the nangun event.
Other silver medallists were Lee Yang (men’s taijijian), Ho Mun Hua (men’s nangun), Mohd Melraj (men’s sanshou 90kg), Chai Fong Ying (women’s taijiquan) and her younger sister, Fong Wei in the women’s gunshu.
Fong Wei picked up a bronze in the daoshu while the other two bronzes were delivered by Phoo Eyin in qiangshu and Ella Tong Pei Yin in women’s sanshou 65kg.
“I feel very proud and happy for Diana on her achievement…she has proven herself as a force to be reckoned with in international wushu competitions,” said Wushu, Lion and Dragon Dance Federation of Sarawak (WFS) secretary and chief coach James Ting yesterday.
He said the association was also proud that Sarawakian exponents had contributed a lot to the national team’s success by winning medals at international championships such as South-east Asia Games, Asian Wushu championship and World Wushu championship.
“I strongly believe that our exponents especially Loh Jack Chang are capable of winning medals in the Olympics if wushu was to be contested as an event in the near future,” said Ting.
He said three Sarawakian exponents in the national squad are namely Loh Jack Chang, Diana Bong and her younger brother, Gjeblehem Bong Teck Fuu.
Diana was the gold medallist in the women’s nangun-nandao events at the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand and defended her title in Laos SEA Games in 2009.
However, she only won the bronze in the same event two years later in Indonesia’s SEA Games. Diana won the bronze in nangun-nandao at the Asian Games held Doha in 2006. In the 2009 World Wushu championship held in Toronto, Canada she won bronze in the women’s nanquan and improved her performance by winning silver in the same event when competing in Ankara, Turkey last year.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Diana won bronze in the nanquan event when wushu was competed as a demonstration event.
On another note, Loh who won gold medal in the taijiquan event in the 2009 Laos SEA Games in 2009 defended his title at Indonesia SEA Games in Palembang last year.
He also won the silver in taijiquan and bronze in taijijian at the World Wushu championship in Ankara, Turkey in 2011 and won the taijijian silver in the 2010 world meet held in Toronto, Canada.
Loh was also the silver medallist in tajiquan at the Asian Wushu Championship in Macau in 2008.