Wushu exponent Cheong Min raises difficulty levels to win Asiad medals

KUALA LUMPUR: National Wushu exponent Tan Cheong Min is levelling up her routine difficulties to increase her chances of winning medals at the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games from Sept 23 to Oct 8.
 
The two-time world champion, however, has to fully master the new difficulties in about two weeks to be able to use them in the women’s Nanquan/Nandao event in Hangzhou after missing the podium by a whisker during her debut in the last edition.
 
Though Cheong Min has started to train on higher levels of difficulty for some time, the 25-year-old has yet to test them during competitions.
 
“The progress is now good; I want to keep improving and try higher difficulties. The most important thing is that my stability must reach 100 percent.
 
“In Asian Games, even if our skills are very mature and good, once you make a mistake, your effort is lost.
 
“If the stability is not perfect, I would use lower difficulties. I hope the one-month training camp in Beijing, China, prior to the Asian Games will help me become a medal contender,” she said when met during a training session recently.
 
At the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, Cheong Min missed a medal after finishing fourth with 19.15 points, just 0.12 points behind bronze medallist Yuen Ka Ying of Hong Kong (19.27).
 
In May this year, she made her SEA Games debut in Cambodia with two gold medals through the women’s Nanquan and Nandao/Nangun events.
 
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s first gold medalist in the World University Games (Universiade), Tammy Tan Hui Ling, who arrived from Chengdu, China, with the Wushu team, was given a warm welcome at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) today.
 
Higher Education Minister deputy secretary-general Datuk Dr Megat Sany Megat Ahmad Supian (Policy) and Wushu Federation of Malaysia (WFM) president Datuk Chong Kim Fatt welcomed the team with garlands and cheers.
 
“The success of winning the gold medal at the Universiade is very historic and has raised the name of the Ministry of Higher Education. I would like to thank WFM, Asia Pacific University, and everyone involved in contributing to this success,” Megat Sany said in a statement.
 
Tammy created history by ending the country’s 38-year wait for a maiden Universiade gold medal after emerging victorious in the women’s Qiangshu event at the Chengbei Gymnasium, Chengdu, last Sunday.
 
The Wushu camp did well to deliver a gold and three bronze medals in Chengdu, with Malaysia having won one gold, one silver, and four bronze in total as of now. – BERNAMA