China pledge Wushu development support

Ambassador Xin Shunkang yesterday hosted a luncheon for two fighters, Clever Mutero and Dereck Jere, who won gold medals and a trophy during two international competitions in Beijing, China last year.
It was like a belated Christmas party for the wushu fighters as they were presented with an assortment of presents by the Chinese Embassy.
The two were part of seven Zimbabweans who were assisted by the Chinese Embassy to travel to China for an attachment at the Beijing Shaolin Wushu School from September 12 to December 10, 2011.
ZWA president Gilbert Makowah yesterday said Shunkang has pledged more assistance to his association this year.
“The ambassador said he will look at the prospects of getting some scholarships for our fighters.
“These two fighters did really well to win a trophy at the China-Africa Wushu championships.
“In the 20 years that the event had been held, this marked the first time that the trophy managed to leave China.
“So the ambassador was impressed with the fact that our fighters only had a short time in China but did very well and he is now looking into more partnerships for Zimbabwe wushu in 2012,” said Makowah.
Jere won the trophy in the final after defeating Xu Jiao Wei in the China-Africa competition.
He was also presented with a certificate and a gold medal while Mutero also won a certificate and a gold medal from his category.
“We learnt a lot through the exposure we got there and hopefully we should be going back to China maybe this year for further studies.
“I hope to also impart some of the knowledge I gained to the aspiring local fighters,” said Jere.
Enerst Jokoma, Kudzai Dodo, Charles Zvoma, Gloria Kandiye and Praise Smith participated in taolu (routines) while Mutero and Jere took part in sanda (actual fighting).
The Zimbabwean fighters had earlier on participated in the International Wushu Cultural Exchange competition which served as a qualifying event to the China-Africa competition.