By Romy Sabaldan
Philippine Information Agency
Davao City (14 March) — Noted martial arts instructor in the Davao region Ricardo Tacay has never lost faith in the country’s medal hopefuls wresting its first Olympic gold medal through Wushu.
And Mindanao is ready to contribute to the continuing search for the best talents that the country can have not only in the fast approaching 2008 Beijing Olympics but also for future international events.
All these, with Tacay’s initiatives in organizing to the fold of the Wushu Federation Philippines related martial arts clubs which had its first Wushu seminar in this city recently.
Tacay expressed this hopes as the new Regions XI and XII coordinator of the Wushu Federation Philippines in Mindanao based in Davao City busying itself in preparing for the first ever Wushu tournament slated April 9 and 10, 2008 at the Activity Center of the NCCC Mall.
Already Cagayan de Oro, General Santos and a dozen other cities and provinces in Mindanao had signified their intentions to send delegates to the two-day encounter.
Out of this tournament will come out some of the best talents in Wushu, a combination of jujitsu, boxing and judo which Tacay said is three of the most familiar martial arts disciplines in this part of the country.
The tournament, he said, aside from increasing our awareness in Wushu will also help all member clubs to slowly assimilate themselves into the game that has inspired new adherents owing to the astounding 11-gold medal haul in the 2005 SEA Games and Rene Catalan’s one-man show of upstaging taller opponents in the recent Doha, Qatar Asian Games.
Catalan’s latest heroic performance in Wushu was in the 3rd World Sanshou Championships in Xian China where he emerged as world champion in the 48 kilogram category.
The Mindanao encounter, Tacay said, is in preparation for the National Open in Metro Manila later in May 2008 out of which participants will be chosen to represent the country in two major international events namely, the World Junior Championships in June 2008 and the 9th World Wushu Championships in Beijing in November 2008. (PIA XI)
