Today is the day that we celebrate the achievements of women across the world and to raise awareness of the continued struggles that women face. This day is particularly important in the sports industry, where women have historically been underrepresented and undervalued. In the case of Wushu, there is growing participation in the sport by female athletes. What’s more, Wushu is finally getting a first appearance at the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympics.
Hence, we shall use this space today to feature a few of Xuan’s world-class female Wushu athletes.
First up, is Xuan Sports’ Head Coach of Taiji, Coach Jennee. The main reason for Coach Jennee to be in Wushu is a result of the influence of her father, Master Tan Eng Hock. Master Tan was a practitioner of the sport, as well as the owner of a traditional Lion and Dragon dance troupe. Coach Jennee started training at the age of ten. She trained six days a week and during her school holidays, while her peers were enjoying their break, she had to train three times a day. While it was tough, all that training was worth is as it earned her a Gold medal in 1999’s Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Myanmar and a Silver medal in the World Wushu Championship in that same year.
According to her, her most memorable competition was the World Wushu Championship in 1999 because it was also the period when she had to take her ‘O’ levels examination. She had to fly to and fro from Singapore to Hong Kong a couple of times more than the other athletes because in between her Taiji Quan and Taiji Sword events, she had to fly back to Singapore to take her first ‘O’ levels examination, and right after her second event, she had to fly back to Singapore to complete the rest of the examination. That was also the first time she flew solo! Juggling the competition with an important national examination is no mean feat and takes lots of grit. She has indeed lived up to Xuan Sports’ motto of excelling both physically and mentally.
Coach Jennee’s aspirations for Taiji is that more young people will pick it up because it has far more benefits than just physical ones. She is also hoping to spread the joy of Taiji to younger kids. On the other front, she has wishes to further her pursuit in psychology, which was her area of specialization in her degree. When asked if she has any advice for girls who wish to take up Wushu, Coach Jennee says that contrary to what many parents think, Wushu is not a ‘rough’ sport and in fact, many of the routines involve a lot of graceful movements. Therefore, it is a good sport for both boys and girls to participate in.
Another athlete that we wish to feature here is another SEA Games Gold medallist, Zoe Mui. Growing up as a skinny and weak girl, her dad has persuaded her to take up the sport at age nine so that it would improve her fitness and health. As a result of her talent, Zoe was selected for the national Wushu team. She specializes in Chang Quan, Broadsword and Cudgel. According to Zoe, training in the national team requires a lot of discipline and high expectations were set on their performance. Her most memorable competition was in 2009, when she represented Singapore for the first time in the Asian Junior Wushu Championships at the tender age of twelve! It was an eye-opener for her as she met some older and stronger opponents. She learnt to overcome the stress and fear to clinch a Silver and Bronze medal for her events. Her big break came when she won the Gold medal in 2015’s SEA Games on home ground here in Singapore!
When asked how Xuan Sports has influenced her, she remarked that Xuan is another family to her. From her peers, to the coaches, and even the parents of other students; they were all very supportive and that made training more motivating and enjoyable for her. That warmth from the Xuan family gave her much fervor and she was driven by the desire to make the Xuan family proud.
For her juniors who wish to pick up Wushu, Zoe advises them to train hard and persevere. She said it takes a lot of time and effort to improve and if faced with failures, they have to ‘learn to get up and continue forward’. Most of all, she feels that they have to believe in themselves.
For her future, Zoe has wishes to become the next billionaire in Singapore! Jokes aside, Zoe has aspirations like every other Singaporean, which is to be able to provide for her family, do things that she likes and buy things that she wants. Right now, she is working hard towards this.
Last but not least on our list, is Yin Shuen, who is the youngest of the women that we are featuring here. Yin Shuen’s latest achievement is in last year’s Asean University Games in Thailand, where she clinched Gold in the Spear event. Wushu was her choice of CCA in school since it was the sport that intrigued her the most. She was only seven when she started. After being selected for the national Wuhsu team, Yin Shuen had to juggle her academics with the intensive training. Much of her leisure time was sacrificed to catch up on her schoolwork since training took up a considerable amount of her time. However, in spite of all these, Yin Shuen has forged meaningful friendships in the national team, which made the trainings more bearable for her. Together, they have created memories and fun moments that will recede in their memory for a long time.
Yin Shuen’s most memorable competition is the recent Asean University Games in Ubon Ratchathani as it was the first time she has won a gold medal on the international stage. It was also the first overseas competition that she has participated in since the Covid-19 pandemic. For Yin Shuen, Xuan Sports has taught her the meaning of ‘Train Hard, Play Hard’. While she is focused and serious in her trainings to make them more effective, she has not forgotten to have fun with her teammates and also coaches to create a more conducive atmosphere to train in. For the younger girls who aspire to be like her, Yin Shuen advised that they should be open to try out a new sport and Wushu is not as intimidating as it looks. She added that while Wushu may not be a conventional sport for girls to take up, it can be what makes them stand out amongst their peers.
The female athletes featured here are just a few examples of the many Xuan Sports athletes who serve as role models for young girls who are interested in the sport of Wushu. Kudos to them for their incredible accomplishments and for breaking the various barriers for female athletes in Wushu.
