Australia has won its first ever Taolu medal at the 4th World Junior Wushu Championships held in Macau recently. Australia achieved its best ever placing with the Men�s Dual Event, represented by Joshua Lim and Reuben Woon, winning a Bronze Medal. 1st Place went to Macau, 2nd place went to Ukraine and 3rd to Australia.
A team comprising of 10 Taolu athletes and 2 Sanda athletes, accompanied by team officials and parents, headed to Macau in September to compete in the championships. It was exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time for many of the first timers. Overall, the Australian athletes competed well and safe.
The Macau Organising Committee greeted us warmly on our arrival and ensured that we were taken safely to our hotel. The team adjusted well to the new environment and thankfully everyone was alright after the 1 hour ferry ride from HongKong!
The registration and team logistics went smoothly and we were well taken care of by the host organising committee. There were two hotels designated for the championships with both hotels conveniently located a stones throw from the sports stadium. The facilities at the sports stadium were good, with an area specially designated for athletes warm up. Volunteers from the host committee were very helpful and in abundance despite the occasional communication difficulties with the language barrier.
During the competition, the International Olympic Committee officials were present to conduct an inspection of the games. The anti-doping regulations and checks were in full swing with every medal winning athletes being tested after every event. The judges were fair and have kept an even-scoring across the board despite having athletes competing in the new third Taolu forms as well as the old forms. The new third Taolu forms for Group A athletes will be fully implemented at the next World Junior Championships.
The competition was attended by close to 40 countries ranging from China, Hong Kong, Vietnam to countries as far flung as Belarus, Bermuda, and Kyrgyzstan. The quality of the athletes from all over the world has improved tremendously and it is evident that these young athletes will continue to excel in their sport and we will definitely be seeing some of them progress to the World Wushu Championships.
This trip to Macau has been a good trip with the officials working very hard to ensure the safety and well being of all the junior athletes. We are very happy with the results and to have won our first Taolu medal, we hope our athletes will work even harder to achieve even better results in the next World Junior Championships.
Angelique Choo (Team Coach)
Michelle Woon (Team Manager)
Photo: 1st place Macau (centre), 2nd place Ukraine (left) and 3rd place Australia (right)
