PETALING JAYA: Dancer Bernice Iu dazzled under the lights at the Hong Kong Open to win three gold medals and reaffirm herself as one of the region’s promising stars in the Latin division.
After several losses in recent tournaments, Bernice stunned the crowd at the Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong to win gold in the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) adult female solo Latin event, with compatriot Yap Wan Xin taking silver and home dancer Abby Lo in third.
Bernice also won both the Asian Championships solo adult female Samba and the Paso Doble events, coming ahead of competitors from 15 other countries.
“I’m happy and relieved that I’m able to bring this triple gold back for the country,” said the 23-year-old Bernice.
“I’m glad I’m able to climb back up after previous falls.”
Malaysia raked in a total of four gold, six silver, and four bronze medals from Hong Kong, with the fourth gold medal coming from Angel Chin in the Juvenile II girl solo Asian Championship Jive category.
Bernice said the results prove that the national dancers are on the rise alongside other countries.
“The result proves to all Malaysians that dancesport is something we excel at. We are getting better.
“There are more medals being delivered by our dancers, and that’s not just the adults, but kids and the youth categories as well.
“Our level is getting higher, and with more exposure at competitions, we will see more results,” she said.
Earlier this month, national dancer Jessie Liau won her first international gold medal when she topped the Tashkent Open in Uzbekistan on Nov 2.
Jessie clinched gold in the WDSF adult female solo Latin event, earning her valuable world ranking points and showed Malaysia’s growing dominance in the female solo Latin events.
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