MANILA, June 3 -- Ten players of the Philippine national Wushu team have left for Fujian, China last Sunday to start their five-month training for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games hosted by the Philippines late this year, the country's Wushu federation said on Monday.
The ten Taolu players including 2018 Asian Games gold medalist Agatha Wong will go on the training with Chinese Wushu master for the finer points of the Chinese martial arts' form events.
Daniel Parantac, who took the silver medal in taijiquan at the 2017 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, said he and his teammates are already for the training through social media prior to boarding the plane.
Except for the Taolu players, their fellows in the Wushu team, including Philippine multi-gold winner Divine Wally, and other players of combat side of the sport, or Sanda, will arrive in China later for training.
"They will follow after getting the approval where they will train," added the 28-year-old Parantac who also won a silver and two bronze medals in the Wushu World Championship in 2013 and 2017.
Wushu is comprised of two components Taolu and Sanda. Taolu involves martial art patterns, acrobatic movements and techniques for which competitors are judged and given points according to specific rules. Sanda, also known as Chinese boxing, combines full-contact kickboxing with close range and rapid successive punches and kicks.
The Sanda players will train at the Wuhan University in Hubei province, where Wally said they will meet their new coach, who she did not identify.
"It will be at Wuhan University this time, since our new coach is from there," Wally said.
Both the Taolu and Sanda athletes will train for a total of five months, while they are also set to compete in the 15th World Wushu Championship scheduled in October in Shanghai, China.
The players will fly back to the Philippines in mid-November for the 2019 SEA Games scheduled late November and early December in various venues in the Philippines main Luzon island's Metro Manila, New Clark city, Pampanga, Bulacan, among others. Enditem