First two gold medals to China at Wushu Championship

Iran and Turkey dominate ‘Sanda’ quarterfinals 

MACAO — Day 1 of the FISU World University Wushu Championship moved directly into dynamic action as the quarter finals of the Men’s 70-kg and 80-kg Sanda competition were held. The literal meaning of ‘Sanda’ is free hand and the event showcases a traditional form of Chinese kickboxing.

In the first 70-kg quarterfinal, Sahandi Hamidreza from Iran overpowered  Rasul Gadzhimagomedov from Russia in two straight rounds. The second match was a more closely-fought battle between French athlete Bared Irvin and Turkey’s Altunkaya Nusret Kayhan, in which the Turkish won 2:1 in the decider to advance to the semi-finals. 

The night session concluded with two Men’s 80-kg Sanda quarter-finals, in which Batan Yunus Emre from Turkey and Karimi Amir from Iran defeated Kazanatov Bagatyr from Russia and Wang Chih-Wei from USA respectively, in straight rounds to advance to the semi-finals.

The morning of he first day had witnessed the traditional Taijiquan competition, where the first two medals of the Championship were awarded in the men’s and women’s divisions. Among the women, it was Wang Xiaohui from China who emerged on top, scoring 9.56 points. 

In the subsequent closely-fought men’s event, Wang Jingshen from China took the gold medal with 9.53 points, after all athletes had completed their routines. 

With this inaugural edition of the World University Championships, Wushu is all set to enter the FISU record books.  

The entire competition schedule and further details can be found here.