Asian Games

[GeneChing]

Is this really "breaking all the rules" or just breaking one rather obvious major rule?

Complaint lodged against wushu official for taking her kid to Asiad Village
ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan contingent returned home from one of the poorest shows in the Asian Games, a complaint against a female wushu official has been lodged for taking along with her a five and half year kid to the Asian Games Village.

One of the contingent officials lodged a written complaint with the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) against female wushu managers Ambreen Iftikhar for breaking all the rules by taking with her a kid to the Asian Games.

The News has learnt from well-placed sources that the complaint mentioned her name and her totally uncalled for step which left other Pakistan contingent officials perplexed on many occasion s during the Game’s proceedings.

“Nowhere in any Games bringing your child is allowed. There is no rule that allows kids to get accreditation for the Games. Other countries officials were just amazed as why the official was even allowed entry to the Games village,” the written complaint says. POA was requested to take necessary action against the concerned official to set a precedent for others.

When The News approached POA Secretary Khalid Mehmood he confirmed receiving complaint against the wushu female official. “Yes, we have received a written complaint against female official from one of the contingent officials on her breaking the rules in a blunt way. Ambreen is our former national wushu champion and had requested for accreditation for her child well before the Games. The POA refused to oblige her mainly because there are no rules that allow us extending such facility to a kid during the Games. Why and how she had taken such a step would be interrogated,” he said. The POA has convened meeting of all concerned officials which were part of teams during the Asian Games on Saturday.

“We have convened a meeting Saturday to look into these indiscipline cases and at the same time would consider performance of each team during the Games,” POA secretary said. When Malik iftikhar Ahmad Awan, president Wushu Federation who also happens to be the husband of Amreen was approached he said that there was no harm in taking along your kid to the Games Village. “Look we were allowed entry to the village by the organisers and that was why our kid stayed there for well over twenty days.”

Iftikhar also said that as a manager and coaches, the officials were supposed to get dailies of players and distribute it back amongst players. “What is the job of manager then?” he questioned. Iftikhar said that his wife also plans to register complaint against some of the contingent officials for misbehaving. “We would do that in due course.” One good thing, however, was that no Pakistani or Games officials took the matter with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). In that case, the issue could have gone out of hands.

[GeneChing]

Asian Games: Indonesia’s wushu queen Lindswell Kwok retires after winning gold and thumbs up from president
The 26-year-old ethnic Chinese is hoping more youngsters will take up the sport in her country after watching her performance

PUBLISHED : Monday, 20 August, 2018, 3:47pm
UPDATED : Monday, 20 August, 2018, 3:47pm
Nazvi Careem



Indonesia’s darling of the Asian Games, wushu athlete Lindswell Kwok, has fulfilled her promise to retire from the sport minutes after winning gold for her country.

The 26-year-old – adored by her compatriots for her beauty, charm and good nature – claimed gold in the Taijiquan and Taijijian all-round competition on Monday, beating Hong Kong’s Juanita Mok Eun-ying into second place, and then told media that she was calling it quits.

“It’s enough now,” said Kwok, who was watched by Indonesian President Jokowi at the JIExpo complex in Jakarta. “I want to rest first. I don’t know what I’ll do next.

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“I have been in wushu since I was a small child. So, I don’t know how I would survive in a world without wushu in my life. I wanted to end my career on a high and I was able to do that.”

Kwok is one of Indonesia’s most decorated athletes, having won five world championship titles and four Southeast Asian Games championships in a row since 2011.

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Indonesia’s gold medallist Lindswell Kwok (centre) with Hong Kong’s Juanita Mok (left) and Philippines bronze medallist Agatha Wong. Photo: AP

If she carries out her promise to retire, Indonesia may experience a void in quality wushu experts on the women’s side. But Kwok hopes more young Indonesians will be inspired by her performances, just she as was drawn to the sport by those who came before her.

“It may not be visible right now but I hope that with Indonesia’s achievements in the sport, our children can be encourage to pursue the sport,” she said.


Lindswell Kwok hugs Hong Kong’s Juanita Mok after the medal ceremony. Photo: AP

“Previously, I never had any interest but when I saw athletes becoming world champions and raising the profile of Indonesian wushu, I became enthusiastic and decided to take up wushu.”

Jokowi, who congratulated Kwok in person after her victory, went on to social media to congratulate her achievement, saying she was the symbolic leader of the Indonesian wushu team.

Glamorous with movie-star good looks, Kwok is a symbol of unity in multi-ethnic Indonesia where more than a year ago many in the capital took to the streets to help oust former governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese.

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[GeneChing]

English-language coverage of this year's Asian Games has been so random.

Agatha Wong: For the love of wushu
September 10, 2018 | 6:26 pm


FILIPINO WUSHU Asian Games bronze medallist Agatha Wong at the media roundtable on Sept. 6 that was hosted by the College of St. Benilde. — ALVIN S. GO

AGATHA CHRYSTENZEN Wong could have easily been a swimmer, a karatedo athlete or even a ballet dancer, but it is in wushu that she has found her place under the sporting sun.

It is a sport that the newly minted Asian Games bronze medallist has vowed dedication to, something she aspires to successfully share with others with the hopes of more people getting to appreciate wushu and eventually picking it up.

“My parents were athletes and they made me try a lot of sports like swimming, karatedo and wushu. I also tried ballet. But when I had to choose, I chose wushu,” said Ms. Wong, 20, in a media roundtable on Sept. 6 hosted by the College of St. Benilde, the school where she got her degree in Consular and Diplomatic Affairs.

“Wushu is a very practiced sport all over the world. If you asked people which is the number one exercise in martial arts it is actually wushu. It is [prevalent] not only in Asia but also in Europe and the Americas. So when you’re from the Philippine team and you’ve gone to international competitions they know you are good,” she added.

And the top caliber that Filipinos have in wushu was what she showed in the recently held 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, where Ms. Wong wound up with a bronze in the women’s taijiquan and taijijian all-around event.

Competed third in the lineup, Ms. Wong tallied a total of 19.36 points behind gold medal winner Lindswell Lindswell of Indonesia with 19.50 points and silver medallist Juanita Mok Uen Ying of Hong Kong with 19.42 points.

Her bronze was one of the 15 that the Philippines had to finish 19th overall in the medal standings of the quadrennial continental sporting event.

Ms. Wong said that she is very proud of the bronze medal that she got, considering the preparation they had in the lead-up was not ideal as hoped, particularly with the support, or lack thereof, that they got.

“To be honest, the support was not that solid before the Asian Games. The team had financial problems, we had no coach and no budget for new costumes… And then we didn’t train in China, which was important in big competitions like the SEA Games and Asian Games. It was mandatory for us to train in China because we would have had a better shot in the Asian Games,” she said.

But Ms. Wong rose above it all through good old hard work and resilience.

WOMEN CAN DO IT

She went on to say that she, too, is proud of being part of the recurring theme in the Asian Games of women doing well for the Philippines.

Of the 21 medals won by the country, 13 were from women, including the four gold medals care off weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, skateboarder Margielyn Didal, golfer Yaku Saso and the Philippine women’s golf team.

“I think we know that every country is actually a dominantly patriarchal society so you know when they comment that, ‘You play like a girl.’ It’s quite an insult. But in this case, out of 21 medals [we got], 13 of those were from Filipino women and I can say that I’m really proud not only to be a Filipino but basically to be a girl and represent this country,” said Ms. Wong.

Adding, “I think their perspective on gender and equality here has changed as well and I think they started to view women as no longer the weaker one. When you look at it we’re equally the same as men. So I just want every Filipino to know that you cannot look down on women because women are as a great as men.”

Having done well in the sport of wushu, Ms. Wong said takes pride in what she has accomplished to date and setting her sights on more mountains to conquer.

“When I want something I really try to do everything I can to achieve it. The road to where I am now was not easy. I had to balance academics and the sport along the way. But it made me tougher and shaped my mentality that I have as an athlete,” Ms. Wong said.

Up next for Ms. Wong is the Wushu World Cup in November in Myanmar and then the 2019 Southeast Asian Games that the country is hosting and the World Championship next year. —

[GeneChing]

Asian Games 2023: Chinese fans fume over South Korean ‘provocation’ in taekwondo final


Video goes viral on social media showing South Korean athletes in mixed taekwondo team final seemingly provoking Chinese opponents
South Korean tennis star Kwon Soon-woo apologises after smashing racket and for refusing to shake hands with Thai opponent in Hangzhou
Kathryn Giordano

Published: 3:43pm, 29 Sep, 2023

Chinese fans reacted angrily on social media to a third unsavoury Asian Games incident featuring South Korean athletes, after an aggressive end to the taekwondo mixed team final.

Tensions soared in the gold medal match on September 25, with a post on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, saying Chinese athletes were “provoked three times” by their opponents.

The accompanying video went viral on Thursday. It showed a South Korean athlete seemingly egging on his Chinese opponent and indicating he approach him.

In another clip, a South Korean athlete appeared to lightly shove a Chinese athlete as he approached him.

The referee, in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, tried to stop the two competitors, and even slightly held back the South Korean.

Once again, Chinese sports fans took out their frustration by posting on Weibo, with one fan writing: “How on earth did they manage to be so offensive?”

“Koreans are here to compete or to be embarrassed and conspicuous,” another wrote. “They throw rackets, refuse to shake hands, bite people, slap opponents.”

The final happened on the same day that South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo destroyed his tennis racket and refused to shake hands after losing to Samrej Kasidit of Thailand. Kwon has =apologised for his reaction in a post on Instagram.

“I did something reckless that I should not have done as a national team player,” Kwon wrote. “I sincerely apologise to all the people who supported the national team’s game and to the crowd at the stadium … I sincerely regret and reflect on the actions that were seen after the match.”

The day before, South Korean judoka Lee Hye-kyeong was disqualified in the women’s 48kg semi-finals for slapping her opponent, Abiba Abuzhakynova of Kazakhstan, across the face.

In each instance, Chinese sports fans complained about the South Korean athletes’ behaviour on social media.

China ultimately won the mixed team taekwondo gold medal, triumphing 84-77 in the final, with South Korea taking silver.

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