WORLD Wushu gold medallist Divine Wally is hoping the 2017 Southeast Asian Games host country Malaysia will revert back its decision to drop all sanda (combat) events before the international competitions next year.
The 19-year-old Baguio City athlete said the preparations she made to earn a spot in the biennial sports competition will just all went to naught if the plan will push through.
“I feel bad about hearing the news, isa po kasi yan sa mga international competitions na pinag-tratrainan namin at present,” Wally told Sun.Star Baguio.
Earlier this week, the Malaysian organizers announced its intent to remove all the sanda competitions in favor of taolu (form) events in wushu.
“Kung mai-pupush po kasi yung decision eh masasayang lang yung training namin which is almost a year now,” Wally added.
According to the Wushu Federation of the Philippines (WFP), Malaysia favoured to bring in 17 taolu events and scrapped in sanda where Filipinos athletes are good at.
Despite the decision Wally, a University of the Cordilleras student-athlete, said she will continue to train for the 2017 SEA Games.
Meanwhile, the WFP-Cordillera also stands with their mother organization in countering the pronouncement made by the host country.
According to the statement given by Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) sports and rules committee member and WFP official, Jun Camacho, the Filipino organization would rather boycott the 2017 SEA Games and rather enlist in the upcoming Asian Wushu Championships Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei this September.
Camacho on the other hand said the POC and WFP will insist the inclusion of some sanda events, if not all, in next year’s SEA Games on the next SEA Games Federation meeting scheduled in July.
The POC has also asked other neighbouring Southeast Asian sports associations to formalize their request for inclusion of the sport.
Apart from Wally, other local names expected to join the Filipino wushu-sanda line-up is another World Wushu champion Jean Claude Saclag, who missed the 28th edition of the SEA Games after acquiring a shoulder injury.
During the 2015 SEA Games held in Singapore, Baguio’s wushu-taolu specialist Daniel Parantac led the medal haul from the event with one gold (taijijian) and two silvers (taijiquan and double weapons contest), as the Philippines completed a 1-4-1 medal tally to contribute with the Philippines 29-36-66 record. (MVP)