Piasau Zhong Hua Wushu Club coach Tan Chee Teng (left) with (from second left) Beckham Chew and Wong while Damlong Ng poses with his coach Mohd Asri Abdul Wahab.
KUCHING: Sarawak wushu athletes will no longer be sent to Bukit Jalil for training with the national team once the Sarawak Wushu Centre is ready by next year.
Wushu Federation of Sarawak (WFS) deputy president James Ting Ing Seek said the Sarawak government has already approved the construction of the centre at the Sarawak Sports Complex in Petra Jaya.
“The construction will commence soon and once completed, it will be a perfect training venue for our elite athletes as it will be equipped with the necessary facilities and equipment. We can also organise local and international competitions there,” he said at the closing of the inaugural Sarawak Wushu Elite Championship at Chung Hua Middle School No. 3 yesterday.
According to Ting, the parents will be more willing to let their young children train at the centre while in the past they had to worry about how their children would fare when they are separated from them.
“WFS is always trying to develop talented athletes and carry out selection trials from time to time to pick the best athletes who will be further groomed for national competitions such as Sukan Malaysia (Sukma), National Wushu Championship, Kementerian Pendidkan Malaysia (KPM) Wushu Championships as well as international invitational championships.
“Sarawak has always done well in Sukma and we always finish among the top three teams. We are able to maintain our standard because we are continuously focusing on our development programmes,” he said.
Ting took the opportunity to thank the Sarawak government through the Ministry of Youth and Sports for the strong support as well as support and cooperation from all parties concerned including sponsors, schools, parents, athletes, coaches and the WFS committee.
He also urged the Sukma athletes to do well in Johor next April and hoped they can become role models to the junior athletes.
Kuching Elite Wushu Club participants pose for a group photo at the end of the competition yesterday.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Sukma shadow team met expectations to top the two-day closed doors championship with 17 gold, nine silver and three bronze medals.
Finishing a close second was Kuching Elite Wushu Club whose athletes bagged 12 gold, 10 silver and one bronze and Piasau Zhong Hua Wushu Club collected four gold, one silver and one bronze to be placed third. The fourth to seventh placed teams were Jun Wei Bintulu Wushu Club (3-2-0), Serian Wushu Club (2-6-4), WFS (2-0-0) and Jun Lun Wushu Club (0-5-4).
A selection trial conducted at the end of the competition saw three potential athletes Beckham Chew Jun Yee and Wong Xin Yi from Piasau Zhong Hua Wushu Club and Damlong Ng Mao Han from WFS roped into the state elite development programme.
Ten other athletes will be monitored and they will need to undergo a training stint with the state team during the year-end school holiday.
They are Angus Tan Yang Hong, Ashleigh Wan Kar Yue, Ashley Chai Ern Nie, Serene Teo Xin Ling and Dexter Thian Shyan Khai from Kuching Elite Wushu Club, Amber Tan Ling Xin and Ashley Yongfrom Jun Lun Wushu Club, Kervince Kong Zhe Hong from Piasau Zhong Hua Wushu Club and two brothers from Jun Wei Bintulu Wushu Club Astiq Luke Tamat and Aster Dylan Tamat.