On March 22, 2022, the Malaysian National Sports Awards Ceremony was held in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah attended this ceremony and presented the awards in person . The 24-year-old Tan Cheong Min created history by becoming the first wushu athlete to be crowned National Sportswoman.
Cheong Min won the women’s Nandao gold and Nanquan silver at the 2019 World Wushu Championships. These awards helped her beat a top-class field of nominees that included Datuk Pandelela Rinong Pamg (diving) ,who won the award 3 times and also won the silver medal at the 2019 Guangzhou World Championships; Siti Zalina Ahmad (lawn bowls); Sin Li Jane (tenpin bowling); and Farah Ann Abdul Hadi (artistic gymnastics). Meanwhile, wushu athlete Wong Weng Son was also shortlisted for the final five nominations for the best male athlete of the 2019/2020 National Sports Awards.
Cheong Min (2nd from left) received the National Best Female Athlete Award from Head of State Sultan Abdullah (middle), and was witnessed by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob (2nd from right), the Minister of Youth and Sports Datuk Sieh Kok Ch (right) and Deputy Minister of Youth and SportsTi Lian Ker (left) witness.
Chong Kim Fatt, president of the Wushu Federation of Malaysian, said that Cheong Min, in the company of the Prime Minister and Minister of Youth and Sports, received this honor from the Supreme Head of State, indicating that wushu has been recognized by the Malaysian government and the people of the nation. Special thanks to the International Wushu Federation and the Asian Wushu Federation for their unremitting efforts in the longtime promotion of wushu, allowing member associations to enjoy a sound wushu development platform for Malaysia Wushu which has culminated in today’s results.
Wushu sports and wushu culture are full of inclusiveness, transcending regions and national boundaries, and can integrate into and promote the development of national sports in various countries and regions. The Malaysian Federation of Wushu will now be more united and more persistent in promoting wushu!
Cheong Min believes that the first time winning the national top honor for Wushu proves that wushu is a very successful sport in Malaysia, and hopes that her award will encourage more people to join wushu. She herself will maintain her passion for wushu and continue to win glory for her country. She said that the first event of this year is the Universiade Games held in Chengdu in June. She will also compete in this year’s Hangzhou Asian Games (September 10 to 25) with the goal of ascending the medal podium, looking to make up for the regret of missing the medals at the Indonesian Asian Games four years ago.
