Singapore’s Jowen Lim claims second gold at World Wushu Championships following Zeanne Law’s victory

SINGAPORE: Jowen Lim, Singapore’s wushu pride, captured his inaugural Wushu World Championships gold in Fort Worth, Texas, securing yet another prestigious medal for his nation.

Despite a challenging start in the men’s changquan(长拳) event, Lim made a triumphant comeback, earning the title of men’s gunshu (cudgel) world champion on Sunday (19 Nov).

During the World Wushu Championships held in Texas, United States, Jowen Lim exhibited exceptional skill with a score of 9.823 points, narrowly edging out Indonesia’s Seraf Siregar for the gold through a tie-breaker, as both athletes achieved identical scores. Malaysia’s Clement Ting secured the bronze with a score of 9.803.

The 24-year-old business undergraduate previously attained a silver medal in the men’s daoshu (broadsword) and gunshu event at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

This victory marked Singapore’s second gold at the championships, following Zeanne Law’s win in the previous women’s taijiquan event.

The delight continued for Team Singapore as they shared the exciting news on Monday about Jowen Lim’s remarkable achievement in seizing the Men’s Gunshu world championship title at the 16th World Wushu Championships.

This monumental win is Lim’s first world title in his illustrious 13-year career, adding to his impressive collection of five World Championships medals.

After securing a silver medal in the men’s daoshu event, Jowen Lim faced disappointment in his signature event, the men’s changquan, due to an unfortunate error during a challenging 720-degree turn, which eliminated his chance for a medal on Saturday.

Despite this setback, Lim shifted his focus to the remaining event, the men’s gunshu, determined to turn things around.

Speaking to Singapore’s The Straits Times, Lim mentioned that he had been building positive momentum until that point.

He emphasized a flawless warm-up session, replicating it in his actual performance, which stood in stark contrast to the disappointment of his earlier mistake—a rare occurrence for him in competition since 2017.

“This was a big difference from the disappointment I felt after the changquan event as that was my first mistake in competition since 2017.”

Adding to the success, Lim’s fiancee, Vera Tan, secured a bronze medal in the women’s taijijian event.

Tay Yu Xuan and Kimberly Ong contributed to Singapore’s medal tally with a silver in the men’s taijijian and a bronze in the women’s changquan, respectively.

These achievements by Lim and Zeanne Law follow the notable successes of previous Singaporean champions at the World Wushu Championships, including Vincent Ng (men’s daoshu, 1995), Emily Sin, Tan Yu Juan, and Tao Yi Jun (women’s duilian trio, 2011), Ho Lin Ying (women’s taijiquan, 2013), and Tan Xiang Tian (men’s xinyingquan, 2015).

For those interested, the Singapore Wushu Dragon & Lion Dance Federation shared a video showcasing Jowen Lim’s performance: