Jong (centre, back row) with the athletes and coaches at the end of the competition at Temasek Hotel, Melaka on Saturday.
KUCHING: Sarawak ended their campaign in the 9th KPM-WFM National Wushu Championship with four gold, eight silver and 10 bronze medals at the Temasek Hotel in Melaka last Saturday.
The 22-member team comprising mainly of newcomers and managed by Jong Chin Wei took part in the taolu and sanda events.
Sukma athlete Stephanie Ngu Chai Ern did well to bag the gold medal in Girls Group B jianshu and silver medals in Group B changquan and qiangshu. She finished fourth in the group event.
Stephanie Ngu performs the routine in Girls Group B jianshu.
The student from Chung Hua Middle School No. 3 could have been a triple gold medalist if not for errors committed while executing her moves in changquan and qiangshu.
Her teammate Fu Sian Wei who is also a Sukma athlete also bagged one gold in Boys Group B qiangshu. He collected a silver in the changquan and a bronze each in jianshu and group event.
Another Chung Hua Middle School No. 3 student Edison Wong Sing Yen collected a silver in Boys Group A taijiquan and a bronze in taijijian.
Fu Sian Wei won the gold medal in Boys B changquan.
Ann Sim Jia Eng, the 14-year old student from SMK Kuching High who made her debut appearance in the championship, also impressed with a gold in the 42 style taijijian and silver in 42 style taijiquan.
Other contributors of silver medals were Carmen Chaw Jia Min, Belda Chan Zhi Yi and Anselym Owen Lo Yen Qi.
In sanda competition, 18-year-old Daniel Manggin from SMK Kanowit took the gold medal in the 70kg below category while teammates Voon Shi Chiang and Ngu Tien Fa won bronze in the 48kg below and 42kg below respectively.
The two-day championship jointly organised by KPM and the Wushu Federation of Melaka saw the hosts in the class of their own when they captured 44 gold, 13 silver and 24 bronze medals.
Negeri Sembilan came in second with seven gold, nine silver and 18 bronze, followed by Penang (6-16-23) and Kuala Lumpur (6-13-21).
Wushu Federation of Sarawak (WFS) president Allen Wong Siew Poh was pleased with the performance of the state athletes.
“We fielded many new faces this year and looking at the results, we have seen improvement when compare to last year.
“I hope and urge the coaches and athletes to continue with your efforts and fight for the next big competition, the National Wushu Championship in Johor in September,” he added.
Meanwhile, Jong conveyed his gratitude and appreciation to parents of the athletes and their respective schools for their strong support in promoting wushu.
“This championship is jointly organised by Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia which showed there is increasing concern on wushu development by KPM in the youth stage. Hence, we hope there will be more schools supporting us in the near future by letting our coaches to groom potential athletes for the State.
“Indeed, all our athletes have done their best in this championship and brought glory to their schools. Stephanie Ngu Chai Ern, Fu Sian Wei and Daniel won gold medals for Sarawak.
“This proved the state wushu training programme is right on track with the support from the Sarawak State Sports Council and the Sarawak Sports Corporation. The athletes’ performance had given us the confidence to prepare for a better achievement in Sukma Johor next year,” added Jong.