Siblings Angus and Amber Tan pose with coaches William Bong (right), Tan Chee Teng (left) and Chiew Sow Hong in this file photo.
KUCHING (Sept 21): Training restrictions did not stop six young athletes from the Jun Lun Wushu Club in Batu Kawa from a fruitful experience in this year’s KPM-WFM-MILO Wushu Online Championship from Aug 1 to 31.
They are eight-year olds Angus Tan and Morven Phua, nine-year old Amber Tan, 10-year old Jasper Phua, 11-year old Ashley Yong and 14-year old Carmen Chaw.
Guided by head coach William Bong and Chiew Sow Hong, they contributed six gold and 11 silver medals to the Sarawak contingent’s medal haul of 38 gold and 41 silver medals.
Carmen was the best girl performer as she won the gold medals in Girls B taijiquan and taijijian where she scored 8.40 points in both events.
A trainee in the state back-up squad, Carmen said she did not feel motivated about the online training initially because it was a very different feeling from the physical training.
“For online training, you can only train at home where the space is quite limited, there is no sports mat and many movements are difficult to complete.
“But with some adaptation, I gradually got used to it. Thank you very much to the coaches for their very patient guidance,” said the St Joseph International School (Secondary) student.
“I feel very happy to win two gold medals because this is a result of hard work, determination and preseverance and it is my first competition in three years,” she added.
Her teammates Amber Tan also did well to capture gold medal in Girls C nanquan, and silver medals in daoshu and gunshu, while Ashley Yong bagged three silvers in Girls C nanquan, silver and gunshu.
The club’s best performer in the Boys category was SJK Sungai Apong pupil Angus Tan who won three gold medals in Boys D changquan, daoshu and gunshu.
Morven Phua was second in Boys D changquan, jianshu and qiangshu while elder brother Jasper bagged three silvers in the Boys C changquan, daoshu and gunshu.
Jun Lun Wushu Club president Lucas Lim Tee Kiat commended the club’s athletes for bringing glory for the club and state.
“Despite the limitations of wushu activities as a result of the Movement Control Order following the Covid-19 pandemic, the athletes are still very passionate about wushu and train through online classes.
“This perseverance sportsmanship and love for the fine inheritance of Chinese culture are the core values we want to emphasise.
“I also want to thank the parents for their persistence and patience with us under the pandemic. The coaching team will work harder to create a better training environment for athletes,” added Lim.
Meanwhile, William Bong said online training required a certain degree of self-discipline as the coaches cannot demonstrate and train the athletes personally.
“It is a great challenge for both coaches and athletes, and, occasionally, we face problems such as poor network connection.
“However, as people always said, there is nothing difficult in the world as long as you work hard for it. Even in a difficult situation, the athletes never miss the online training and complete the training programmes and tasks assigned by the coach.
“This is a very commendable self-discipline. Because of this self-discipline, satisfactory results can be achieved in the end,” he said.
The KPM-WFM-MILO Wushu Online Championship was organised by Wushu Federation of Malaysia and hosted by the Negeri Sembilan Wushu Dragon and Lion Association.
It was supported by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Youth and Sports and attracted 303 participants.
Jun Lun Wushu Club training centre is located on the top floor of Fresh & Pay corner, which is opposite MJC.
It is currently enrolling students. Those interested can go to Facebook to search for “Jun Lun Wushu Club Training Centre” or contact William Bong via Whatsapp at 012-6213583.