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THE coach of the RP wushu team remains hopeful that the popular
combat sports will be included in the Olympic calendar of events, if
not in London four years from now, then probably in the future.
Former world champion Lester Pimentel believes
the Filipinos have what it takes to win an Olympic medal be it gold
or any other color had wushu been able to make it as a regular event
in the Beijing Games this August.
Unfortunately, the sport was turned down and
instead, will be made as a special event of the 2008 Summer Games.
Still, the youth development chair of the
Philippine Wushu Federation isn’t losing hope that the sport will
become a part of the Olympic family someday.
“Sayang nga. This could have been our best
chance and the best opportunity for wushu to be played as a regular
sport in the Olympics. But I believe the International Wushu
Federation [IWUF] is still bent on lobbying for wushu’s inclusion
in the Olympics, although that would need another round of voting
among member nations,” said Pimentel in the weekly PSA Forum at
the Shakey’s UN Avenue branch.
Four bets are representing the country in the
special wushu competition in Beijing led by reigning World and Asian
champion Willy Wang.
Wang is competing in the nanquan event or form
while three others—Benjie Rivera (56 kg), Mary Jane Estimar (52
kg) and Marian Mariano (56 kg)—are all seeing action in the
sanshou or combat style.
Pimentel, a gold medal winner in the 1995 World
Wushu Championships in Baltimore, USA, said the trio of Rivera,
Estimar and Mariano has the better chances of winning than the
highly fancied Wang.
“Mas maganda ang chance natin ngayon sa combat
form, especially we always end up in the top 3 sa lahat ng mga
competitions,” said Pimentel.
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