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By Eddie G. Alinea, Contributor
A 10-MEMBER national wushu contingent leaves for
China Friday for a series of training and competition stints in four
key cities in the mainland.
The team, headed by reigning world champion and
24th Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Willie Wang, actually
comprises the first batch of beneficiaries of President’s husband
Mike Arroyo’s fund-raising campaign in relation to the country’s
quest for its first Olympic gold medal.
Wang and company’s trip to China, where they
will see action in world-class competitions in Beijing, Sian,
Guangzhou and San Xi was made possible by San Miguel Corp. President
Ramon Ang, who through the efforts of First Gentleman was recently
named “godfather” of the sport.
Other members of the team are SEA Games gold
medalist Marianne Domingo, Daniel Tarantoc, Jason Domingo, Dembert
Zalcita, Benjie Rivera, Mark Ediva and Mary Jane Estimar.
All, according to Philippine Wushu Federation
lifetime President Francis Chan, have earlier made it to this
year’s Beijing Olympic Games in separate qualifying tournament
last year.
Besides Wang’s gold medal in last year’s
world championships, Estimar and Mariano had also scooped up the
silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Besides wushu, the President’s husband had
also succeeded in getting businessman-sportsman Manny Pangilinan,
the PLDT-Smart top honcho as “godfather” of the boxing team from
where the country is expected highly to win its first gold medal in
the quadrennial classic.
Chinese coach Liu Yu Fu, who has been calling
the shots in the national teams’ international campaign for the
past four years, will accompany the national athletes in their China
trip.
Chan thanked Atty. Arroyo and Ang for giving the
team the opportunity to train in China from where the sport of wushu
actually originated, saying it’s a big boost to the wushu aces’
chances of gifting the country a gold medal.
“Wushu might only be a demonstration sport in
Beijing, but that will not stop our boys and girls from winning our
much sought-after gold medal,” Chan said on the eve of the
Filipino fighters’ departure.
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