The first ever World Taijiquan Championships was held in Chengdu, Sichuan province from 1 to 4 November, and it was a successful trip for Hong Kong’s wushu team as they returned from the tournament with 2 gold, 5 silver and 1 bronze medal.

During the four-day event, organised by the International Wushu Federation to promote taijiquan and wushu in general to the world, 297 taijiquan masters from 31 countries or regions took part in various events.

Standout performers for Hong Kong were Yeung Chung-hei and Zhuang Jiahong, both of whom won a gold and silver. Yeung won the men’s 39 forms taijijian and came second in the Yang style taijiquan, while Zhuang won the men’s optional taijijian and was runner-up in the optional taijiquan.

Hui Tak-yan took 2 silvers (men’s 36 forms taijiquan and Chen style taijijian) and completing the medal haul were Mok Uen-ying (silver, women’s 36 forms taijiquan) and Tang Siu-kong (bronze, men’s Yang style taijijian).

Liu Tao, Head Wushu Coach at the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI), said the competition, organised to promote the sport’s bid to enter the Olympics, was “a great success”.

“New competition formats were introduced, such as group taijiquan and taijijian,” said Liu. “After each competition session, master martial artists were also invited to demonstrate their skills to the participants, offering them a great opportunity to learn first-hand from traditional masters as well as the best athletes from around the world, which is very different from watching videos of other athletes performing the skills.”

Liu explained that Hong Kong took a young team to the event as they look to build for the future.

“Most of them were under the age of 18,” he said. “I was pleased with the team’s results, which not only has a positive impact on the team’s morale, but also let the world know that Hong Kong’s young athletes have what it takes to compete with the world’s best.”

“In the coming year, the Hong Kong team will focus on preparation for two competitions, including the Asian Junior Wushu Championships and the World Wushu Championships.

“Since the Asian Games, the team is going through a transition period between old and young athletes, and I expect 80% of the athletes participating in these two competitions will be young athletes. We hope that we can make use of the coming year to raise their level.”

“Currently we have a very strong junior team and will continue to provide the best support for them. I hope that more athletes will pursue a career in the sport and commit to full-time training, and in the long run, pass on their passion and knowledge of the sport to the next generation.”

Hong Kong’s badminton team won 2 silver and 1 bronze medal in November, with Wong Wing-ki coming agonisingly close to victory at the Macau Open.

Wong, 24, reached the men’s singles final at the Grand Prix gold level event after upsetting the third seed Haseena Sunil Prannoy of India. He took the lead in the final against Xue Song, but the Chinese player fought back to win 16-21, 21-13, 21-19. “This is the first time he has reached the final and the result will boost his confidence,” said HKSI Head Badminton Coach He Yiming.

There were promising results at youth level for Hong Kong too, with Ng Tsz-yau and Yeung Nga-ting coming third in the women’s doubles at the SCG Badminton Asia Junior U17 & U15 Championships, and Cheng Sin-yan and Lam Cheuk-lam finishing runners-up in the OUE Singapore Youth International.

Hong Kong men’s doubles players Tang Peng and Wong Chun-ting continued their fine season with victory in the Russian Open, while the junior girls’ team showed the future is bright with an impressive bronze medal finish in the Junior World Championships.

Tang and Peng, who have also won in Spain and Australia on the ITTF World Tour this year, were top seeds for the event in Ekaterinburg and comfortably accounted for surprise finalists Fedor Kuzmin and Grigori Vlasov of the hosts, 7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 13-11.

Meanwhile, the performance of the junior girls team in Shanghai was no less impressive. The team – Doo Hoi-kem, Lam Yee-lok, Liu Qi and Soo Wai-yam – had topped their group ahead of Korea and Puerto Rico, then beat Germany in the quarter-finals. The hosts proved too strong for them in the semis however, and went on to win the title.

Elsewhere, Ho Kwan-kit finished third in the men’s under-21 event at the Swedish Open.