BACK TO THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. Former world champion Divine Wally (right) will be in Shanghai, China on October 18 for the World Wushu Championship along with Gideon Padua and the wushu taolu teams that have three Cordillerans including veteran Daniel Parantac, Thornton Lou Sayan and Jones Inso. Photo shows Wally with two-time Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist Karizha Chan, who has retired from the wushu taolu squad with their painting that was exhibited by a local artists at the city museum. (File photo courtesy of Divine Wally FB)
BAGUIO CITY – Two Philippine Wushu Teams will finally reunite on Friday (Oct. 18) after four months and right before they see action in the 15th World Wushu Championships (WWC) in Shanghai, China.
“Sa 18, dun na kami magkikita (We will see the others on the 18th),” said multi-medaled Divine Wally through a Facebook message as her Wushu Sanda (combat) team wraps up, for the meantime, their training in Chengdu, Sichuan, China for the worlds.
The Philippine team of the Wushu Taolu (forms) has 10 players with three of them Cordillerans: Daniel Parantac, Thornton Lou Sayan and Jones Inso.
Wally and another Baguio native, Gideon Padua, joined the Wushu Sanda team last July 7 for their training at the Chinese city, even as the Wushu Taolu (form) team with veteran Danial Parantac left last June 9 for Fujian, some 2,076 kilometers from where their counterparts trained the past four months.
“Mahirap at nakakapagod ang prep(aration). We’ve been preparing for almost four months. (Preparation is difficult and tiring),” added Wally, a Bachelor of Science in Education graduate at the University of the Cordilleras as she attempts to repeat as world champion.
Wally won the gold in the 2017 edition to complete the troika top events that include the World Cup of Wushu Sanda and Southeast Asian Games gold medal.
“We are ready,” added Wally of the event that starts on Oct. 19 until the 24th which will also serve as preparation for the SEAG in November.
The venue for both the taolu will be at the Shanghai Minhang Gymnasium building while the sanda will be at the Shanghai Minhang gym’s tennis court.
Both the athletes and the officials are expected to arrive at the venue on October 18. A refresher course will also be given to the officials prior to the start of the games.
On the 19th, team training will be staged even as the refresher’s course will continue.
The Minhang Indoor Stadium in Minhang Sports Park in Qibao town consists of the main hall, training hall, and supporting facilities, covering an area of 50, 310 square meters, the International Wushu Federation’s World Wushu Championship (WWC) web page said.
The taolu players that include Agatha Wong are undergoing a five-month training with Chinese master Li Qiang for the finer points of the Chinese martial arts’ form side.
Parantac is a 2013 and 2015 SEA Games gold winner, who took the silver in the taijiquan event of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
The teams will fly home mid-November for the SEA Games scheduled late November and early December in various venues in Manila, Clark in Angeles, Pampanga and Bulacan, among others.
