The Sarawak wushu team are all fired up for the challenge in Sukma VIII.
KUCHING: National exponents will be Sarawak’s main stumbling block in its bid to retain the overall crown in as the 18th Sukma wushu competition gets underway at SJK Chung Hua No. 3 School Alumni Hall from July 23-25.
It would be tough for the Sarawak athletes despite having the home ground advantage as they will be under more pressure to outdo the other teams.
Wushu offers 20 gold medals and Sarawak’s target is four gold and shouldering the responsibility to maintain the honour for the state are six male and six female exponents.
Out of the 12 exponents, only Audrey Chan Yee Jo, Lee Hui Xian, Mandy Lim, Fu Wen Jie, Clement Thian Fung Seng, Clement Ting Su Wei and Elvic Bong Qian Zheng are retained from the previous Sukma in Perlis in 2014.
Head coach Yoong Thong Foong, who was hired by the Sarawak State Sports Council in January, said there are national athletes competing in all sports events in Sukma and wushu is of no exception.
“I have coached and led the national exponents in international before and I know their standard very well,” said the former national coach.
He picked Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Penang to pose the stiffest challenge to Sarawak as they have the most number of national exponents.
Yoong said the state exponents are well prepared, with the medal prospects having undergone one-month training stints in Hunan, China last July and Fukien, China this March.
He is expecting Sarawak to do well in the women’s taiji events and men’s changquan as well as in the daoshu, jiangshu, qiangshu and gunshu.
Yoong declined to name the medal prospects as he did not want them to be under more pressure to perform.
“I am hoping that they will display strong mental toughness, stay concentrated and focused in executing their routines during the competition,” he added.
The uniqueness in Sarawak’s team this Sukma is that they are fielding two bumiputera exponents in Arifah Yong Khairul Kok and Muhammad Asri Abdul Wahab who are both entered in the taiji disciplines.
The squad’s youngest member is 12-year-old Stephanie Ngu Chai Ern.