(Pic, Center) His Royal Highness
Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah (L),the
President of the Brunei
Darussalam National Olympic
Council (BDNOC), talks to the
national wushu team at the
Tennis Indoor Senayan Stadium
in Jakarta yesterday. (Pic, Above)
Faustina Woo Wai Sii won bronze
for Brunei yesterday.Pictures:
BT/Jason Thomas
The national wushu team stamped their authority once again when Faustina Woo Wai Sii (pic) won bronze in the nanquan (southern fist) event at the 26th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games here yesterday.
Showing that the team are a force to be reckoned with, the medal is hardly surprising since the side have enjoyed a rich vein of form at regional and international meets.
The 19-year-old Woo picked up 9.48 points at the Tennis Indoor Senayan Stadium, Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, with Indonesia securing gold through Ivana Ardelia Irmanto (9.60). Malaysia's Cheau Xuen Tai took silver with 9.55
"I'm happy with the result," said Woo. "I feel I did my best.
"I want to thank the coach (national coach Li Hui), my parents and the Department of Youth and Sports for sending me here. I also want to thank Butra Heidelberg Cement Sdn Bhd for sponsoring the team," added Woo, who will see action in the nandao (southern broad sword) event today.
Woo will also compete in tomorrow's nangun (southern cudgel) event and team up with Lee YingShi in the duilian (duo sparring with broadsword and spear) competition on Monday.
The duilian event has been Brunei's brightest medal prospect of late, with the country winning gold through Lee and Karyn Ho Chia Yin during August's 6th Asian Junior Wushu Championships in Shanghai, China.
Woo and Lee teamed up at the last SEA Games in Laos in 2009 to deliver silver in the event, but the former isn't promising anything in Jakarta.
"All I want to do is try my best," said Woo of her remaining events.
Li was satisfied with Woo's result and said that a medal in what was the country's first of six events put them in good stead at the five-day wushu competition.
"It's our first event and we already won a medal," smiled the coach.
"It's a result of our hard work. The team really worked hard and trained even when they were injured or ill. So I'm impressed with their performance," added the Chinese-national.
Making her debut at the SEA Games, the 16-year-old Ho bravely battled through injury to finish with a commendable 9.17 in the jianshu (swordplay) event yesterday.
Though her points meant she would finish fourth in the field of four competitors, that she was able to push away the pain of a sprained left ankle picked up during training in Brunei and left her out of action for three weeks is a testament to her character.
Marks from the second part of the event, tomorrow's qiangshu (spear) discipline, will be totalled to calculate the final score for the contest.
There was hardly anything separating the top-three yesterday; Indonesia's Susyana Tjhan leading the pack with 9.72 followed by Myanmar's Sando Oo (9.71) and Vietnam's Thuy Vi Duong (9.70).
Despite Ho still looking to be in the running, her coach wanted to be realistic.
"It's very hard since she didn't train for 20 days," said Li.
"It's already good enough that she was able to stand the pain and she performed very well," he added.
Lee and Ho will take part in the changquan (long fist) event today, meaning all three of the country's exponents here will get some time in the limelight.
Courtesy from Brunei Times
