NAGOYA (The Straits Times/ANN): National wushu exponent Zeanne Law clinched Singapore’s first medal at the 2026 Asian Games on Sept 20, winning a joint bronze in the women’s taijijian-taijiquan event.
At the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall in Nagoya, Japan, the 20-year-old scored 9.720 points to place fourth after the morning’s taijiquan, and was third in the taijijian in the afternoon, combining for 19.443 points to secure a spot on the podium.
She shared the bronze with Brunei’s Basma Lachkar, who also finished with 19.443 points. Lachkar is the first Brunei athlete to win two wushu medals at the Asian Games series. In the 2022 Asiad, she bagged a silver in the event.
China’s Tong Xin retained her title with a score of 19.553, while Japan’s Shiho Saito (19.473) claimed silver.
This is Law’s first medal at the Asiad. In her debut at the Hangzhou Games in 2023, she finished ninth in the same event.
Since then, she has established herself on the global stage, becoming a world champion at just 18.
Making her World Wushu Championships bow in 2023, Law took gold in the women’s taijiquan as well as a silver in the women’s duilian.
A year later, she won the women’s taijiquan and optional taijishan titles at the World Taijiquan Championships in Singapore and was also named Sportswoman of the Year at the Singapore Sports Awards.
Law’s bronze on Sept 20 is Singapore’s first medal in the taijijian-taijiquan since Jessie Liew bagged bronze in the taijiquan combined event at the 2002 Games in South Korea.
She is also the ninth wushu exponent from the Republic to win a medal at the quadrennial event since the sport was first contested at the 1990 Games in Beijing, China.
At the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, Singapore had two medallists – Jowen Lim and Kimberly Ong, who won the men’s daoshu and gunshu silver and the women’s changquan bronze, respectively. -- The Straits Times/ANN
