Wong defends wushu title
Wushu’s Agatha Wong defended her title as 30th Southeast Asian Games champion in the women’s taolu taijiquan competition after finishing with 9.67 points yesterday at the World Trade Center Hall in Pasay City.
“I would like to dedicate my performance to my old teammate Rastafari Daraliay who recently passed away,” said Wong, who got emotional in an interview with the Manila Bulletin.
Daraliay, 11, passed away last
September after reportedly falling from the top bunk of a doubledeck bed inside the athletes’ dormitory at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate. “This is for him,” she added. “I also dedicate my performance to my family. They’ve been supporting me since January,” she said, sharing that her grandmother watched her full performance at home.
The 21-year-old Wong secured her second consecutive SEA Games gold following the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Games.
Wong said her victory was the product of perseverance, not of any specific skill.
“I don’t think I have a specialty. I just tried my best,” she said when asked if Taijiquan was her strong suit.
The rigors of training also had some consequence, she said.
“I have really bad cramps and my feet hurt. This year, I just trained all year round so we were all very fatigued,” she bared.
Brunei Darussalam’s Basma Lachikar placed second with 9.55, followed by Vietnam’s Thi Minh Huyen Tran with 9.53.
Meanwhile, during Men’s Taolu Taijiquan, Philippines’ Daniel Latawan bagged the bronze medal after garnering a score of 9.56.
Malaysia earned the top spot at 9.68 points while Brunei came in next with 9.59.