Manipur’s Jason Yengkhom has become the first Indian to win a gold medal in the World Junior Wushu Championships. Yengkhom won in the boys’ 52 kg Sanshou event at the 6th edition of the Championships in Bulgaria, beating China’s Jun Yang. India’s Thoudam Malemnganbi and Roshibina Naorem won a silver and a bronze respectively in their events at the Championships. In the world of Wushu, China ranks no. 1 and Iran no. 2 and are always taken to be unbeaten up until Jason’s feat.

Did You Know?

• Wushu is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts.
• It was developed in China after 1949, in an effort to standardize the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts.
• Competitive wushu is composed of two disciplines: taolu and sanda.
• Taolu involves martial art patterns and maneuvers for which competitors are judged and given points according to specific rules.
• Sanda (sometimes called sanshou) is a modern fighting method and sport influenced by traditional Chinese boxing, Chinese wrestling methods called Shuai jiao and other Chinese grappling techniques such as Chin Na.
• The World Wushu Championships (WWC) are held every two years and are organised by the International Wushu Federation (IWUF).