Singaporean Wushu athlete Zeanne Law honored with 2023 Rising Star Award

SINGAPORE: Singaporean Wushu athlete Zeanne Law (罗芝宁) was honoured with the 2023 International Wushu Federation Wushu Taolu (set routine) Rising Star Award on Wednesday (24 January).

The 18-year-old, in her first participation in the World Wushu Championships last year, clinched the gold medal in women’s taijiquan (太极拳) .

In collaboration with teammates Kimberly Ong Li Ling (王瓅苓) and Zoe Tan Ziyi (陈子怡), they secured the silver medal in the women’s duilian (对练, dual event):

Team Singapore enthusiastically celebrated Zeanne Law’s international recognition with a joyous Facebook post, spotlighting her exhilarating triumph on the global stage.

The awards for the year 2023 were determined through initial evaluations by the International Wushu Federation and a one-month public voting process.

Expressing her joy about receiving the Rising Star Award, Zeanne Law stated in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, “I am very happy to receive this award. Because it was voted on, I am very grateful to everyone who took the time and effort to vote for me. ”

“Knowing that people from within and outside the Wushu community voted for athletes like us, I am deeply moved. This also indicates that there is a huge support system behind me, motivating me to strive harder in future competitions.”

Regarding her plans for the year, Zeanne Law mentioned that she expects to participate in the Fourth World Taijiquan Championship in Singapore and the Wushu Routine World Cup in Japan. She expressed her determination to give her best and achieve good results.

Zeanne Law’s Wushu journey

According to the Singapore Sports School, Zeanne Law Zhi Ning embarked on her Wushu journey at the age of 9, inspired by her seniors who showcased a captivating Wushu routine during a Lunar New Year celebration at Maha Bodhi School.

Upon completing her secondary education at Chung Cheng High School Main, Zeanne decided to enrol in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme at the Singapore Sports School, where she continued to pursue excellence in both academics and sports.

In May 2022, at the age of 16, she made her international debut at the 31st SEA Games, securing the 4th and 6th positions in her Taijiquan and Taijijian events, respectively.

Coach Zhang Feng (张峰), Zeanne Law’s coach, congratulated her, saying, “Zeanne has been training very diligently for a long time and finally became a world champion in 2023, which is not easy.“

”The Rising Star Award she received is not only her glory but also represents significant international recognition for the development of Wushu in Singapore. This is a collective honour for our wushu community in Singapore.”

“Zeanne’s future path in Wushu is still long. After each competition, we always say that when an athlete steps down from the podium, everything starts from zero. “

”I hope Zeanne takes this award as an opportunity to continue working hard, stay focused, and perform well in future competitions.”

Jowen Lim (林思韦), who won the gold medal in men’s Gunshu (cudgel) techniques and the silver medal in Daoshu (broadsword) at the World Wushu Championships, as well as the silver medal in men’s cudgel and broadsword techniques at the Asian Games, received a nomination for the Best Male Athlete in Wushu Routine in this award evaluation.

The award was won by Chinese athlete Lu Xiangcheng (卢向成).