Wushu Exponents Win Historic Medals 

SJM 10th Asian Wushu Championships 2024 , 9th World Junior Wushu Championships 2024 

Written By 
Zoe Tan 
Individual Programme (Wushu), Diploma in Business Studies ,Year 3 


The SJM 10th Asian Wushu Championships, held in Macau, China from 12 to 15 September 2024, attracted Wushu exponents from all around Asia. Competitors showcased self-choreographed routines from three different styles: Changquan, Nanquan, and Taijiquan. Exponents Chan Jun Kai, Chia Kaiming, Jowen Lim, Kimberly Ong, Kassandra Ong, Zeanne Law, and I took to the competition mat to shine.   

We brought home a total of 1 gold, 2 silvers, and 1 bronze, which contributed heavily to Team Singapore’s final count of 1 gold, 2 silvers, and 3 bronzes.   

Zeanne delivered a remarkable performance, taking home Singapore's first-ever gold medal in the Women's Taijiquan event. 

Chia Kaiming also achieved notable results in his first major competition. He was placed 4th in the Men’s Gunshu event and 5th in the Men’s Daoshu event, which was impressive for a first-timer competing with a strong field of competitors. “I felt an array of emotions high and low, like a roller coaster," said Kaiming, describing how anxious and worried he was. He is thankful for the opportunity to represent Singapore and is driven to work harder for more opportunities to compete internationally again.  

The biggest challenge that Kaiming faced was finding his self-confidence. He felt demoralised during some of the training sessions leading up to the competition as he was not performing to his expectations and began to doubt himself, especially on his jump difficulties. I have had the opportunity to train alongside Kaiming and shared similar sets of challenges when I tried a new set of difficulty in my Changquan routine. I have to keep improving especially in jump difficulties, in order not to become stagnant. To cope, both Kaiming and I spoke to our teammates and coaches regularly, who encouraged us to keep a positive mindset during their competition preparations. 

Although Kaiming did not secure a medal finish, he felt what was more important was the experience and the motivation to push himself and to come back stronger. “I will continue working hard to achieve more outstanding results,” said Kaiming.  

I, on the other hand, was extremely touched when I saw the costume that my mom made for me! My mother worked endless nights on my costume. I had no idea what she was planning but I trusted her creative process. When I saw the finished costume, I was reminded of a recent newspaper article where a dance mum sewed 1000 sequins on her child's dance costume. I think my mum probably put 2000 crystals on mine! 

After the Asian Wushu Championships, both of us have set goals for ourselves to compete in more international competitions. Up next will be the World Games Series (Qualifiers) in Hong Kong, China, for Kaiming and the World Cup in Japan for me.  

Also, at the 9th World Junior Wushu Championships, held in Brunei Darussalam from 22 to 30 September, our young wushu exponent, Charlotte Ng Leting, also achieved awesome results! She is crowned the new world junior champion in Taijishan. She also took a silver in Taijiquan, finishing just behind her Chinese Taipei exponent and ahead of her competitor from China.