Agatha Wong: For the love of wushu

AGATHA CHRYSTENZEN Wong could have easily been a swimmer, a karatedo athlete or even a ballet dancer, but it is in wushu that she has found her place under the sporting sun.
It is a sport that the newly minted Asian Games bronze medallist has vowed dedication to, something she aspires to successfully share with others with the hopes of more people getting to appreciate wushu and eventually picking it up.
“My parents were athletes and they made me try a lot of sports like swimming, karatedo and wushu. I also tried ballet. But when I had to choose, I chose wushu,” said Ms. Wong, 20, in a media roundtable on Sept. 6 hosted by the College of St. Benilde, the school where she got her degree in Consular and Diplomatic Affairs.
“Wushu is a very practiced sport all over the world. If you asked people which is the number one exercise in martial arts it is actually wushu. It is [prevalent] not only in Asia but also in Europe and the Americas. So when you’re from the Philippine team and you’ve gone to international competitions they know you are good,” she added.
And the top caliber that Filipinos have in wushu was what she showed in the recently held 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, where Ms. Wong wound up with a bronze in the women’s taijiquan and taijijian all-around event.
Competed third in the lineup, Ms. Wong tallied a total of 19.36 points behind gold medal winner Lindswell Lindswell of Indonesia with 19.50 points and silver medallist Juanita Mok Uen Ying of Hong Kong with 19.42 points.
Her bronze was one of the 15 that the Philippines had to finish 19th overall in the medal standings of the quadrennial continental sporting event.
Ms. Wong said that she is very proud of the bronze medal that she got, considering the preparation they had in the lead-up was not ideal as hoped, particularly with the support, or lack thereof, that they got.
“To be honest, the support was not that solid before the Asian Games. The team had financial problems, we had no coach and no budget for new costumes… And then we didn’t train in China, which was important in big competitions like the SEA Games and Asian Games. It was mandatory for us to train in China because we would have had a better shot in the Asian Games,” she said.
But Ms. Wong rose above it all through good old hard work and resilience.
WOMEN CAN DO IT
She went on to say that she, too, is proud of being part of the recurring theme in the Asian Games of women doing well for the Philippines.
Of the 21 medals won by the country, 13 were from women, including the four gold medals care off weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, skateboarder Margielyn Didal, golfer Yaku Saso and the Philippine women’s golf team.
“I think we know that every country is actually a dominantly patriarchal society so you know when they comment that, ‘You play like a girl.’ It’s quite an insult. But in this case, out of 21 medals [we got], 13 of those were from Filipino women and I can say that I’m really proud not only to be a Filipino but basically to be a girl and represent this country,” said Ms. Wong.
Adding, “I think their perspective on gender and equality here has changed as well and I think they started to view women as no longer the weaker one. When you look at it we’re equally the same as men. So I just want every Filipino to know that you cannot look down on women because women are as a great as men.”
Having done well in the sport of wushu, Ms. Wong said takes pride in what she has accomplished to date and setting her sights on more mountains to conquer.
“When I want something I really try to do everything I can to achieve it. The road to where I am now was not easy. I had to balance academics and the sport along the way. But it made me tougher and shaped my mentality that I have as an athlete,” Ms. Wong said.
Up next for Ms. Wong is the Wushu World Cup in November in Myanmar and then the 2019 Southeast Asian Games that the country is hosting and the World Championship next year. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo