A half-dozen young athletes from the Semiahmoo Peninsula performed a clean sweep – six athletes, six gold medals – at Wushu Canadian Championships earlier this summer.
The national competition, which was held in Thunder Bay, Ont. from July 28-31, featured more than 400 martial arts competitors, including a handful from South Surrey’s Golden Glory Martial Arts. All six local competitors – Myah Atwal, Sophie Billan, Johnny Filtness, Jake Fuller, Nickolas Korrani and Nick Perlman – competed in the ‘sanda’ event, with each winning their age and weight division.
In addition to bringing gold medals back home to B.C., the six also earned spots on Team Canada for upcoming junior-level international events, including Junior World Wushu Championships, which are slated for December in Indonesia.
Mostafa Sabeti, who runs Golden Glory Martial Arts, told Peace Arch News that he “couldn’t be prouder of these young athletes,” while also noting he is excited to see them represent Canada at junior worlds.
Wushu, which originated in China, is the official name of kung fu and one of the most popular forms of martial arts. The sport consists of two parts – taolo, or forms, and sanda, which is one-on-one fighting.
Sabeti is the coach and manager of Wushu Canada’s national team.
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nick.greenizan@peacearchnews.com
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