Brunei wushu athletes with their coaches. – WUSHU FEDERATION OF BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
BRUNEI Darussalam wushu athlete Basma Lachkar dropped out of medal contention after posting a score of 9.08 in the women’s taijijian event at the 18th Asian Games at the Jakarta International Expo in Jakarta yesterday.
The country’s youngest representative has earlier entered the draw among the mix of competitors in the hunt for a podium finish following an impressive round in the women’s taijiquan event where she was ranked third on Sunday.
Needing to match or fare better to stand any chance of remaining in medal position, the score effectively blew her chances out of the waters.
“Basma cracked under pressure. On her mind was to win a medal for Brunei so she lose focus in her performance and did a mistake that deducted her points,” wushu coach Li Hui said in an interview with the media.
“As a 15-year-old athlete, this is her first major competition. She was in tears after knowing she didn’t win. Both athletes have tried their best.
“Basma is still a young athlete, she needs to gain exposure in big competitions to further improve,” the coach added.
Basma’s national teammate Ang Guat Lian was also in medal contention having witnessed her score in the whereabouts of a podium place in the women’s taijiquan event but a return of 9.51 points in the women’s taijijian dashed her medal hopes.
Indonesia’s wushu star Lindswell Kwok won gold with Hong Kong’s Juanita Mok Uen-Ying claiming silver and Philippines’ Agatha Chrystenzen Wong settling for bronze.
The Filipino ace was one of three competitors who posted a shared score of 9.68 in the women’s taijiquan event and matching the score was enough for her to secure bronze with Vietnam’s Tran Thi Khanh Ly narrowly missing out.
Lindswell, who is a five-time world champion and unbeaten in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games since 2011, also announced her retirement shortly after her historic gold-medal win.
The 26-year old finally clinched the coveted Asian Games title, bettering the silver medal she won in Incheon four years ago.
Meanwhile, Md Sufi Shayiran Roslan and Mohammad Adi Salihin Roslan began their campaign in the Men’s Nanquan event yesterday.
Mohammad Adi Salihin recorded a score of 9.55 points while Md Sufi Shayiran posted 9.14 points, both well off the podium places.
China’s Li Jingde led the way in the Men’s Nanquan with 9.75 points followed by Vietnam’s Quoc Khanh Pham with 9.71 points and Macau’s Junhua Huang in third with 9.70 points.
The wushu pair will be back in action in the Men’s Nangun to complete the all-around event today at the same venue.
