Wushu bets China-bound

The Wushu Federation of the Philippines is leaving no stone unturned in its bid to achieve its goal of at least a gold medal in the Asian Games in Busan, Korea this September, sending its athletes to China in June to undergo intensive training under Chinese wushu experts.

WFP president Julian Camacho has promised to win at least one gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the Busan joust – a performance that will easily surpass their lackluster showing in the Hiroshima and Bangkok Games.

"Our athletes have improved and all of them have a chance to take home medals. Going to Busan, our target is to win at least one gold, a silver and two bronze medals," said Camacho.

Camacho hopes the Filipino wushu athletes hone their skills as they will have the chance to be pitted against world class Chinese counterparts in the China trip.

The China training is part of the memorandum of agreement the Philippine Sports Commission signed with the State Sports General Administration of China during the term of former PSC chairman Carlos Tuason.

The MOA intends to strengthen the RP-China ties and allow Filipino national athletes to train in China while preparing for international meets like the Asiad, the Southeast Asian Games and the Olympics.

Other NSAs sending athletes to China for training are diving, rowing, gymnastics and fencing.

"Actually, we’d invited all 21 NSAs which have qualified athletes in Busan for the China trip, but only five showed intentions of going there," said Ariel Paredes, a member of the joint POC-PSC Asian Games Task Force.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Olympic Committee executive board named Camacho as the country’s chief of mission to the 2003 Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Camacho was part of the small POC contingent, headed by its president Celso Dayrit, that attended a recent SEAG Federation meeting in Hanoi, where member countries discussed the disciplines to be calendared in next year’s meet.

Vietnam has agreed to double the number of events in wushu, an event the Vietnamese and the Filipinos are strong at, in the 2003 SEAG.

Camacho said a total of 40 wushu gold medals will be up for grabs in Hanoi, two times more than the number contested in the Kuala Lumpur Games.