2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament
Tournament details
CountryChina
CityBeijing
Venue(s)Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium
DatesAugust 21–24, 2008 (2008-08-21 – 2008-08-24)
Participants128 (from 43 countries)

The 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament (Chinese: 北京2008武术比赛; pinyin: Běijīng 2008 wǔshù bǐsài) was a wushu competition which was held from August 21 to 24, 2008 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Beijing, China.[1] The tournament was organised by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), the International Wushu Federation (IWUF), and the Chinese Wushu Association (CWA),[2] and was held in tandem with the 2008 Summer Olympics.[3]

The competition consisted of ten taolu events (5 male, 5 female), and five sanshou events (3 male, 2 female). The Chinese team dominated the competition with eight gold medals followed by Russia and Hong Kong which earned two gold medals each.[4]

Background

Starting in the 1970s, the government of the People's Republic of China started to consider sport as a possible medium for friendly international exchange. One sport the PRC was very interested in developing was modern wushu. In 1982, the General Administration of Sport of China officially proclaimed that wushu practitioners had a duty 'to promote wushu to the world'[5][6] with the ultimate goal of wushu becoming an official event at the Olympic Games.

The International Wushu Federation (IWUF) was founded 1990 Asian Games, and over a decade later, it was fully recognised by the International Olympic Committee during the 113th IOC Congress at the 2002 Winter Olympics.[7] This development along with Beijing's successful bid in hosting the 2008 Olympics presented the opportunity for wushu to be included in the Games,[8] but as Jacques Rogge became the new president of the IOC in 2002, he announced the IOC's plans to reduce the number of the events at the Games.[9] This led to the creation of the Olympic Programme Commission which called for changes and reevaluations within the Olympic programme. Despite this, the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), the IWUF, and the Chinese Wushu Association (CWA) began to lobby extensively for the official inclusion of wushu. Athletes and organisations argued that the inclusion of the sport would help culturally diversify the Games[10] and hoped that wushu would follow the same Olympic path as judo and taekwondo.[11]

In August 2002, the Olympic Programme Commission under Chairman Franco Carraro recommended to the IOC executive board that wushu should not be admitted to the 2008 Summer Olympics, and reasoned that it was not a sport of global appeal and that it would add no substantial value to the Games.[9][10] Shortly after this meeting though, the IOC reversed their decision and stated that the sport of wushu was once again under consideration.[12] In 2004, the Olympic Programme Commission introduced new evaluation criteria for Olympic sports to ensure the events would be fair and of high quality.[11] As a result, the IWUF switched to computerised scoring and the International Rules for Taolu Competition were significantly revised. Sanshou rules stayed relatively the same besides switching to computerised scoring.

In 2005, IOC President Rogge met with the IWUF President and IOC executive board member Yu Zaiqing at the Chinese Grand Prix[10] and announced that wushu will have no place in the Olympic Games in Beijing, not even as a demonstration sport.[13] After meeting again a few weeks later at the 2005 National Games of China, all parties involved came to a compromise. Despite the IOC's rule that no international or national sports competition is allowed in the Olympic host city during or one week before or after the Games and also despite the ban on demonstration events since the 1992 Summer Olympics, the IOC specifically permitted the IWUF to organise a wushu tournament alongside the Olympic Games due to wushu's place in traditional Chinese culture.[14] This collaboration was reaffirmed during a meeting at the 2006 World Traditional Wushu Championships, though the IOC did not specify if wushu had demonstration sport status, but referred to it as a 'representation sport.'[15][16]

Other than substituting the Olympic rings with the logo of the IWUF, all other elements (e.g. medal design, award presentation & ceremony, graphic elements and colours, volunteers of the tournament, etc.) were identical to the Olympics. Athletes were also allowed to stay in the athletes' village though were only allowed to arrive only a few days before the tournament.[17] The official BOCOG website also included the schedule, results, and profiles of the athletes.[18] Day two of the competition was broadcast on China Central Television (CCTV)[19] but other international channels provided live streaming for other days. The taolu and sanda events took place at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, which was the site for the Handball competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Events

The Beijing Wushu Tournament borrowed the same combined-event format which was seen at wushu competitions such as the Asian Games, Southeast Asian Games, and the National Games of China. The events contested were:

Schedule

● Round ● Last round R Round of 16 ¼ Quarterfinals ½ Semifinals F Final
Event↓/Date → 21st

Thu

 22nd

Fri

 23rd

Sat

 24th

Sun

Men's changquan ●
Men's daoshu and gunshu ●
Men's jianshu and qiangshu ●
Men's nanquan and nangun ● ●
Men's taijiquan and taijijian ● ●
Men's sanda 56 kg R ¼ ½ F
Men's sanda 70 kg ¼ ½ F
Men's sanda 85 kg ¼ ½ F
Women's changquan ●
Women's daoshu and gunshu ●
Women's nanquan and nandao ● ●
Women's jianshu and qiangshu ● ●
Women's taijiquan and taijijian ● ●
Women's sanda 52 kg R ¼ ½ F
Women's sanda 60 kg ¼ ½ F

Qualification

128 athletes from 43 countries took part in the Beijing Wushu Tournament. National federations were not allowed to send more than eight taolu and sanshou athletes to the competition.[20] Since China was the hosting nation, any of its athletes which competed at the 2007 world championships would qualify. Unlike the IOC, the IWUF recognises the Macau Olympic Committee and athletes representing Macau were allowed to compete in the competition.

Taolu

Besides the typical awarding of medals per each taolu event at the 2007 world championships, all athletes were ranked based on their combined scores from the proposed events at the Beijing Wushu Tournament (ie. daoshu and gunshu; jianshu and qiangshu; etc.).[21] All athletes which ranked within the top six of a combined category or changquan (as ranking was done based only on the singular event) qualified for the Beijing Wushu Tournament.[6] The IWUF then distributed 20 wild cards to various national federations to send more athletes. A national federation could enter only one athlete per each event and all athletes could compete in only one event.[22]

As Chinese athletes at the 2007 world championships would automatically qualify for the Beijing Wushu Tournament, all of them opted not to participate in their second events after winning gold medals in their first events.[21]

Sanshou

All sanshou athletes who placed in the top eight in the selected events for this competition (men's 56 kg, 70 kg or 80 kg; women's 52 kg or 60 kg) at the 2007 world championships qualified for the tournament. Vacancies due to illness, injury, or nonavailability were not filled, hence the unusual distribution of participants and rounds.[22]

Medal summary

Since the Beijing Wushu Tournament was not officially connected to the Olympic Games, medals earned were not added to the official Olympics medal tally.[4][23]

Medal table

  *   Host nation (Host nation (China))

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 China (CHN)*8008
2 Russia (RUS)2305
3 Hong Kong (HKG)2114
4 Macau (MAC)1315
5 Iran (IRI)1124
 Philippines (PHI)1124
7 Malaysia (MAS)0235
8 Vietnam (VIE)0134
9 Japan (JPN)0123
10 Chinese Taipei (TPE)0101
 Italy (ITA)0101
12 Egypt (EGY)0022
13 Brazil (BRA)0011
 Great Britain (GBR)0011
 Indonesia (INA)0011
 South Korea (KOR)0011
Totals (16 entries)15152050

Medalists

Men's taolu

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Changquan
Yuan Xiaochao
 China		 Semen Udelov
 Russia		 Ehsan Peighambari
 Iran
Daoshu / Gunshu
Zhao Qingjian
 China		 Jia Rui
 Macau		 Cheng Chung Hang
 Hong Kong
Jianshu / Qiangshu
Liu Yang
 Hong Kong		 Lim Yew Fai
 Malaysia		 Nguyễn Huy Thành
 Vietnam
Nanquan / Nangun
Willy Wang
 Philippines		 Peng Wei-Chua
 Chinese Taipei		 Pui Fook Chien
 Malaysia
Taijiquan / Taijijian
Wu Yanan
 China		 Hei Zhi Hong
 Hong Kong		 Yoshihiro Shimoda
 Japan

Men's sanshou

Event Gold Silver Bronze
56 kg
Zhang Shuaike
 China		 Nazir Shandulaev
 Russia		 Qin Zhi Jian
 Macau
Benjie Rivera
 Philippines
70 kg
Cai Liang Chan
 Macau		 Murad Akhadov
 Russia		 Ahmad Ibrahim
 Egypt
Yoon Soon-Myung
 South Korea
85 kg
Muslim Salihov
 Russia		 Hossein Ojaghi
 Iran		 Emerson Almeida
 Brazil
Nicholas Evagorou
 United Kingdom

Women's taolu

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Changquan
Daria Tarasova
 Russia		 Xi Cheng Qing
 Macau		 Susyana Tjhan
 Indonesia
Daoshu / Gunshu
Geng Xiaoling
 Hong Kong		 Jade Xu
 Italy		 Chai Fong Wei
 Malaysia
Jianshu / Qiangshu
Ma Lingjuan
 China		 Han Jing
 Macau		 Nguyễn Mai Phương
 Vietnam
Nanquan / Nandao
Lin Fan
 China		 Erika Kojima
 Japan		 Diana Bong Siong Lin
 Malaysia
Taijiquan / Taijijian
Cui Wenjuan
 China		 Chai Fong Ying
 Malaysia		 Ai Miyaoka
 Japan

Women's sanshou

Event Gold Silver Bronze
52 kg
Qin Lizi
 China		 Mary Jane Estimar
 Philippines		 Nguyễn Thúy Ngân
 Vietnam
Farzaneh Dehghani
 Iran
60 kg
Zahra Karimi
 Iran		 Lương Thị Hoa
 Vietnam		 Walaa Abdelrazek
 Egypt
Mariane Mariano
 Philippines

Participating nations

See also

References

  1. ↑ Feng, Hui (2008-09-26). "The road to the Olympic Games for Wushu". China Daily. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  2. ↑ "武术比赛21日至24日举行 金牌不计入奥运奖牌榜-搜狐2008奥运". Sohu. Xinhua News Agency. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  3. ↑ "Beijing 2008 Wushu tournament kicks off". Xinhua News Agency. China Internet Information Center. 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  4. 1 2 "Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008 Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  5. ↑ Brownell, S (2012). Lo, Vivienne (ed.). "Wushu and the Olympic games: 'Combination of east and west' or clash of body cultures?". The International Journal of the History of Sport. London: British Museum Research Publications. 188: 59–69 – via SAGE Publishing.
  6. 1 2 ""北京2008武术比赛"-武术何时走进奥运会国际在线奥运频道8月22日封面故事". China Radio International (in Chinese). 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  7. ↑ "About IWUF". International Wushu Federation. Archived from the original on 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  8. ↑ Wood, Robert (2010). "Olympic Wushu (Demonstration)". Topend Sports Website. Archived from the original on 2015-03-30. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  9. 1 2 Carraro, Franco (2002-08-29). "Olympic Programme Commission - Review of the Olympic Programme and the Recommendations on the Programme of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, Beijing 2008" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-12-19.
  10. 1 2 3 E. Price, Monroe; Dayan, Daniel (2008). Price, Monroe; Dayan, Daniel (eds.). "Owning the Olympics: Narratives of the New China". New Media World. University of Michigan Press. doi:10.3998/nmw.5646196.0001.001. hdl:2027/spo.5646196.0001.001. ISBN 9780472070329 – via JSTOR.
  11. 1 2 Han, Qing-song; Theeboom, Marc; Zhu, Dong (2020-09-20). "Chinese martial arts and the Olympics: Analysing the policy of the International Wushu Federation". International Review for the Sociology of Sport. 56 (5): 603–624. doi:10.1177/1012690220957177. S2CID 224984229 – via SAGE Publishing.
  12. ↑ "Wushu Goes for Olympics". EastDay (东方网). China Internet Information Center. 2002-08-26. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  13. ↑ "Rogge Says Wushu No 'Olympic Sport' in 2008". Xinhua News Agency. China Internet Information Center. 2005-10-16. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  14. ↑ Lei, Lei (2005-10-14). "Wushu to be part of Beijing Olympic Games". China Daily. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  15. ↑ "Wushu likely to be a "specially-set" sport at Olympics". Chinese Olympic Committee. Xinhua News Agency. 2006-10-17. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  16. ↑ "Wushu Ready for Olympic Debut". China Daily. 2006-08-03. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  17. ↑ "Ninth IOC/BOCOG press conference". Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games. 2008-08-20. Archived from the original on 2008-09-06. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  18. ↑ 王, 拓 (2008-08-22). "组图：北京2008武术比赛". People's Daily (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2011-07-19.
  19. ↑ Lee, Matthew (2014-05-10). "No Medal for You: Why (I Feel) Olympic Wushu is No Longer worth It". Jiayoo Wushu. Archived from the original on 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  20. ↑ The official website of the BEIJING 2008 Olympic Games. "Wushu - Background - The official website of the BEIJING 2008 Olympic Games". beijing2008.cn. Archived from the original on 10 August 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. 1 2 "9th World Wushu Championships 2007 Beijing China Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation. 2007-11-16. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-10-24.
  22. 1 2 "Wushu - Background - The official website of the BEIJING 2008 Olympic Games". Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games. 2008-09-15. Archived from the original on 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  23. ↑ "Olympedia – Wushu". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
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