Wong hands Phl 2nd Wushu Jrs gold

MANILA, Philippines - Agatha Chrystenzen Wong and Dave Degala stepped up when world championship veteran Ken Alieson Omengan struggled as they snared a gold and a silver medal in Day 2 of the seventh Asian Junior Wushu Championship at the Makati Coliseum yesterday.

Wong dazzled her foes and the judges with a superb performance to score 9.31 points and cop the gold in the 32 forms taijijian of the taolo event for 15-years-old and below.

The College of the Holy Spirit high school senior bested Vietnamese Tran Kieu Trang and South Korean Choi Yu Jeong, who took the silver and bronze medals with 9.21 and 9.21 points, respectively.

Wong’ s victory came after Faith Liana Andaya, Joel Casem, Vanessa Jo Chan, Degala, Johnzenth Gajo, Christian Nicholas Lapitan, Kimberly Macuha and Omengan combined for 9.42 to share top honors with China in the taolo group exhibition Thursday.

“This victory is special to me because it’s my first gold medal in an international event,” said Wong, who finished eighth in the World Juniors Championship in Macau, China last year.

Wong was gunning for her second gold medal in the 24 forms taijijian event at presstime.

Degala, who also vied in the strong Macau tilt, pocketed the silver in the second set cangquan for 18 and under boys with a score of 8.88. Lee Hoi Tan of Macau won the gold with 8.92 points.

Adlet Tolebin of Kazakhstan scored 8.52 points to take the bronze.

Omengan, a World Juniors Championship gold medalist, failed in his bid for a second gold, ending up eighth in the men’s nangun for 18-years-old-and-below following a score of 9.33.

Iran’s Mohammadrez Azizkhani captured the gold medal with 9.40 while Hong Kong’s La Tsz Wing and Vietnam’s Cao Khac Dat took the silver and bronze with 9.39 and 9.38 scores, respectively.

The 15-year-old Omengan later rued competing against older foes.

“I tried my best to win another gold but they’re just way older, more experienced with more polished performances,” said Omengan.

With two golds and a silver, the Phl stood in seventh place with China pacing the field with four gold medals and a silver. Macau is in second with 3-2-1 while Malaysia is in third with 3-1-4.