‘WUSHU, What Is That?’, Tweeps Ask After India Win 4 Medals During Asiad 2018

This is the best-ever medal haul by India in wushu at the Asiad

By: Karan Nanda |
August 23, 2018 1:15 pm

The Indian team scripted history after they bagged four bronze medals in the wushu sanda competition in the ongoing Asian Games in Jakarta on August 22. This is the best-ever medal haul by India in wushu at the Asiad.

Three medals came from the men’s competition as Santosh Kumar (56kg), Surya Bhanu Pratap Singh (60kg) and Narender Grewal (65kg) lost their respective semi-final bouts. However, each of them is assured of a bronze medal.

Santosh lost 0-2 to Vietnam’s Truong Giang Bui, while Singh lost by a similar margin to Erfan Ahangarian of Iran. Grewal also suffered a 0-2 loss to Foroud Zafari of Iran.

Naorem Roshibina Devi took a bronze in the women’s section after losing 0-1 to China’s Cai YingYing in the 60kg semi-finals.

Though the countrymen are celebrating India’s remarkable achievement in the sport, some Tweeps are struggling to find ‘what is this wushu all about’.

#Goodnews: India wins as many as 4 medals in Wushu at #AsianGames2018 #BadNews: What is Wushu?

— kaushik aroskar (@kaushik_aroskar) August 22, 2018

What is Wushu?:asian games: india has won four medals in wushu, know how to play the wushu | ________ _ ___ _____, ___ _____ __ __ __________? https://t.co/C8eiaReQeV pic.twitter.com/Mb15rArbzv

— Bangla News Paper (@PaperBangla) August 22, 2018

Wushu 4 bronze medals. Guess many don’t know what is wushu.

— Anish Azheekal (@anishazheekal) August 22, 2018

Wushu, also known as Chinese Kungfu, is a type of martial art. It requires flexibility, strength, perfect leaps, twists, and flips.

The game first came to India in 1989. Wushu Association of India describes it as a game which pays attention to both internal and external exercises with fighting movements as its main content, and with routine exercises and free combat as its forms.

The game is classified into two major categories – Sanshou and Taolou.

What’s the difference between SANSHOU and TAOLOU?

Sanshou: Free combat — a combination of Kick, Punches, Hold, Push & Throwing techniques under certain conditions and fixed rules.

Taolou: Routine exercises — WUSHU routines are practised either bare-handed or with weapons, involving various combinations of attack and defence, advance and retreat, dynamic and static state, quickness and slowness, toughness and softness, solidity and emptiness etc.