Brunei Darussalam’s Basma Lachkar with her coaches. PHOTO: BRUNEI DARUSSALAM SECRETARIAT
Brunei Darussalam’s wushu star Basma Lachkar reached new heights of greatness in the country’s sporting history after winning the silver medal in the Women’s Taijijian and Taijiquan All-Round Final event during the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China on Sunday.
Basma’s individual success also translated to the country’s best performance in the Asian Games with a first-ever silver medal.
Previously, the country has only won four bronze in their history in the multi-sport meet.
The national sensation posted a score of 19.502 points behind eventual winner and gold medallist China’s Tong Xin, who scored 19.696 points.
The excellent Basma usurped several of the sports’ heavyweights including Hong Kong’s world champion Chen Suijin, who settled for bronze with a score of 19.476 points.
This further enhanced Basma’s reputation in the regional and global circuit having previously bagged gold in the World Games, silver in the World University Games and silver in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
Basma’s bronze also ended the country’s wait for a podium finish since karate exponent Tong Kit Siong last bagged bronze in the men’s kumite under-75 kilogrammes (kg) event in Busan, Korea in 2002.
National coach Li Hui said, “This is a historic moment for Brunei. It’s the first medal for Brunei in the Asian Games.”
“I want to pay tribute to the national wushu female coach for her dedication and hard work in nurturing Basma to become a worthy medallist.”
He also thanked the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports for their continuous support in wushu. – Fadhil Yunus
