Zhao Qingjian won a gold medal in men's combined daoshu and gunshu yesterday, the first day of Beijing's wushu tournament.

Zhao, scoring 9.85 in daoshu and 9.85 in gunshu, ranked first in the broadsword and staff competition, part of the taolu category.

Jia Rui, from Macao, and Cheng Chung Hang, from Hong Kong, won silver and bronze medals with scores of 19.34 and 19.19, respectively.

The second gold medal on offer yesterday went to Tarasova Daria of Russia for women's changquan (open fist), with a score of 9.74. Xi Cheng Qing of Macao, and Susyana of Indonesia, scoring 9.65 and 9.58 respectively, ranked second and third.

The four-day Beijing 2008 Wushu Tournament, which draws 128 athletes from 43 countries and regions, kicked off at the Beijing Olympic Sports Center, the venue for many Olympic handball matches.

It was the first time a non-Olympic tournament has been held in a city that is hosting the Olympic Games at the same time.

"With the approval of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Beijing 2008 Wushu Tournament is co-sponsored by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), the International Wushu Federation (IWUF) and the Chinese Wushu Association," said Wang Xiaolin, the secretary-general of IWUF.

"It is the first time in Olympic history that a tournament of a non-Olympic event has been held in an Olympic host city during the Games," Wang said.

"The IOC approval shows its recognition and support of the sport, which originated in China, and its respect to the Chinese culture," Wang said.

As for the inclusion of wushu in the Olympic Games, Wang admitted that there is still a long way to go.

There are a total of 15 gold medals up for grabs in the Beijing 2008 Wushu Tournament, which features taolu (set routines) and sanshou boxing (free combat).

Sun Jianming, head coach of the Japanese wushu team, said, "Wushu is more popular in Asia than in Europe and America. Statistics show that in Japan there are about a million people practicing wushu, the taijiquan in particular."

"Many medical organizations in Japan encourage the people to practice taijiquan to keep healthy," said Sun, who went from China to Japan 22 years ago to be a wushu tutor.

Japanese athlete Koki Nakata, 24, said, "I started to practice wushu at the age of 16. The technique of wushu is so amazing that I could not give it up in the past eight years.

"I am a fan of Jackie Chan, the world famous wushu master and movie star," he added.

(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2008)