Iloilo City’s pride Arnel Mandal made the country proud again by retaining his world title in the recent Wushu Sanda World Cup in Hangzhou, China.
Mandal, 22, outclassed Vietnemese Vu Minh Duc in the 52-kg class to underscore his status as one of the world’s finest wushu fighters.
Francisco Solis also from Iloilo City settled for silver after losing to Li Kang of China in the 56-kg finals.
Reigning 48-kg women’s champion Divine Wally, 24, from La Trinidad, Benguet had to settle for the bronze medal this time as she bowed to worlds titleholder Dai Shimeng of China.
Wally, the 2016 Asian Wushu Championship gold medalist, also lost to Dai in the semifinals of the 2017 World Wushu Championships.
The Sanda World Cup is the apex of the combat discipline of Wushu with only the medalists in the most recent World Wushu Championships qualified to see action.
Wushu Federation Philippines president Tan She Ling commended Mandal, Solis and Wally for their feats and expressed confidence that the trio will win gold medals in next year’s SEA Games.
