China dominates wushu sanda at Chengdu World Games with 3 golds

CHENGDU, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- China emerged as the biggest winner in wushu sanda at The World Games 2025 here on Tuesday, claiming three gold medals and one silver in six finals.

In the women's 52-kilogram bout, China's Chen Mengyue entered to loud cheers and scored repeatedly with effective kicks, cruising past India's Namrata Batra 2-0 in the best-of-three match. Despite the loss, Namrata's silver medal marked India's first-ever podium finish in wushu at the Chengdu World Games.

Chen's teammate Li Zhiqin followed shortly after, continuing the strong momentum by winning in straight sets against Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy to claim the 60kg gold medal.

"I'm very happy to win gold again here in Chengdu," said Li, who also won at the Chengdu Universiade two years ago. "With more and more strong competitors from all around the world, it reflects wushu's global influence."

In the women's 70kg sanda final, China's Zhu Hailan won the first round but lost the next two to Iran's Seyedah Yasaman Bagherzadehvaskas, who took the gold.

Tang Sishuo claimed China's third gold of the night by dominating Vietnam's Do Huy Hoang in the men's 56kg final, winning 12 points in just one round with powerful throws and leg sweeps that repeatedly toppled and even tossed his opponent off the platform.

Egypt's Alhussein Wahdan edged Iran's Mohammadreza Rigi 2-1 for the men's 85kg title, while South Korea's Song Gicheol beat Hong Kong, China's Cheung Yat-lam 2-1 in the men's 70kg final.

Sanda is a full-contact combat sport similar to kickboxing, featuring three women's and three men's weight classes at the World Games, with bouts refereed as in boxing. ■