KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 (Sin Chew Daily) — The first online wushu competition in Asia region has received overwhelming response from 21 wushu associations and 163 exponents submitting a total of 209 visuals to participate in the competition.

Due the Covid-19 pandemic, the Asian Wushu Championships was put on hold.

The Wushu Federation of Malaysia (WFM) and Wushu Federation of Asia (WFA) turned the competition into an online event this year.

Cohosting the online competition are the Negeri Sembilan Wushu Dragon and Lion Association, Wushu Academy Malaysia, the China Cultural Center in Kuala Lumpur, Culture and Tourism Department of Henan Province, China, Olympic Council of Malaysia and the National Sports Council.

The organizers will be reviewing the 209 visuals submitted by 21 wushu organizations in Asia from September 20 to 30 and the results will be announced on October 4.

WFM President Datuk Chong Kim Fatt said this is the first online competition organized by WFM and WFA where various technical issues have to be solved.

He thanked the support extended by various wushu organizations.

“We were touched as some wushu associations have put in a lot of effort to overcome teething issues on internet connection, video equipment and venue for the online competition. This is the highest level of spirit reflected in wushu,’’ he said.

Chong was grateful to the Culture and Tourism Department of Henan Province in China for extending its support to the online competition.

Jiang Jiding, head of the Culture and Tourism Department of Henan Province said the online competition jointly organized by WFM and WFA provides a platform for martial arts exponents to learn traditional wushu from one another.

The online competition shows that wushu is a popular sports transcending race, nationality and cultural barriers, he added.