CHEONG MIN HOPES CNY GATHERING WILL SPUR HER ON TO GREATER WUSHU SUCCESS

By Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi Mohamad Arif

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 (Bernama) -- The phrase "Distance makes the heart grow fonder” aptly describes how much national wushu queen Tan Cheong Min misses home, especially when it's Chinese New Year time.

It's no wonder then that, after a year of being away from home due to her packed training and competition schedule, Cheong Min is thrilled to be able to celebrate this year's Chinese New Year, which welcomes the Year of the Snake, with her family in Tanjung Minyak, Melaka.

For her, Chinese New Year is not just about an opportunity to rest from the energy-sapping training sessions, but also a special moment to bond with her beloved family members.

"Last year, I was busy with training and competing abroad, so much so I did not get to return to my hometown for a year. So, this year I intend to go back to my hometown, enjoy the Chinese New Year celebration and spend more time with my family.

"During the Chinese New Year, I would usually visit my relatives, go to my grandparents’ house, get together with my nephews and nieces and go out with my friends. This is my time to actually enjoy this togetherness,” said the two-time world champion when contacted by Bernama today ahead of the festive celebration this Wednesday (Jan 29).

The 26-year-old Cheong Min, who bagged the nangun gold at the 2024 Taolu World Cup in Yokohama, Japan last October, said some of the most memorable moments spent with her family included watching replays of her in action in tournaments throughout the year, which she likened to watching a movie.

She was keen to stress that family happiness is the most important element that can help propel her to excel in the sport.

"The happiest times are when we get together and they (the family) talk about my performances, results and achievements. They will watch video clips of the tournaments I took part in and will (usually) praise me.

"Their support is greatly meaningful to me because it inspires me to strive even harder to achieve even greater success,” said the 2019/2020 National Sportswoman.

Cheong Min, meanwhile, said that she is currently working on perfecting her combination of skills, routine and movement and adapting to a higher degree of difficulty ahead of the next window of competition later in June.

She said that, for now, she is almost certain to compete in the Wushu Taulu Asian Cup in Jilin, China in July and the World Games in Chengdu, China in August, which she has qualified for.

For the Wushu World Championships to be held in Brazil in September and the Thailand SEA Games in December, she said her participation would depend on the selection process.

"So, besides efforts to polish up routine, skills and movement combination, my focus is to further improve my performance because if I can do well during the selection process, I may stand a chance to be selected for the other two events (the World Championships and SEA Games),” she said.

For the record, Cheong Min bagged the 2017 world title in Kazan, Russia in dulian before clinching her second world crown at the 2019 edition in Shanghai, China in nandao.

Her other international victories included winning two golds at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia; silver at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China; and a gold medal at the 2024 Wushu Asian Championships in Macau last September.

-- BERNAMA