Chinese athletes win first Chinese-Egyptian Wushu Sanda championship

CAIRO -- The Chinese men's kung fu Wushu team emerged victorious at the first Wushu Sanshou championship between China and Egypt held here on Wednesday.

The competition, dubbed the "Horus Wushu Sanshou Championship," was held in the Egyptian capital of Cairo and was organized by the Chinese Embassy in Cairo in cooperation with the Wushu Associations of the two countries.

Wushu, which is a Chinese martial art and a full-contact sport, is composed of two disciplines: Taolu and Sanshou.

Sanshou is a modern fighting method that combines kickboxing and wrestling in addition to grappling techniques.

Five out of eight Chinese athletes of different weight categories snatched victory over their Egyptian counterparts in the tournament that was largely attended by Chinese community in Egypt, who came to support their nationals.

"Today we played well, but maybe due to away games, some teammates did not play with their full strength and we lost two matches," Shen Guoshun, a an athlete in the 60 kg category told Xinhua after the game.

He pointed out that the Chinese team's main purpose is to interact with their Egyptian counterparts in order to learn from each other.

"We also wanted to extend our good culture of Wushu to them," he added.

After the competition, Egyptian player Ashraf Abdel-Gawwad, who lost in the 85 kg contest, said playing against Chinese Wushu players is a great motivation for him, noting that China has the best Wushu athletes in the world.

"We did a good job; we can do better if we have enough financial support and expertise," Abdel-Gawwad told Xinhua.

The Chinese cultural counselor in Egypt Shi Yuewen said that the tournament is meant to expand the influence of the Sino-Egyptian sports exchange and Chinese martial arts.

"Chinese martial arts will become a bridge for consolidating the friendship between China and Egypt," he stressed.

He added that Sanshou is an important part of Chinese martial arts and one that is widely enjoyed by fans from other countries in the world.

The head of Egypt's Wushu Association has confirmed that this competition will be held annually.

He expressed happiness for the cordial atmosphere that engulfed the championship, saying that these sorts of games will help Egyptian players gain experience from their Chinese counterparts.