Wushu year's most outstanding national sports association

MANILA, Philippines - For an outstanding year that saw its athletes dominate both Asian and world stages, the Wushu Federation of the Philippines is the hands down choice of the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) as the Outstanding National Sports Association for 2008.

The honor will be bestowed on the organization on Feb. 20 during the San Miguel Corporation-PSA Annual Awards Night at the Alegria Lounge of the Manila Pavilion Hotel.

Bannered by Willy Wang, wushu was a source of pride for Philippine sports last year, beginning from Macau all the way to Beijing.

The 24-year old Wang served as the face of the national wushu team, winning a gold medal in the nandao event (Southern single-edged sword) of the seventh Asian Wushu Championship.

He then capped the year with another gold by topping the men’s nanquan and nangun combined in the Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008, a special side event held simultaneously with the Olympics.

While the medal didn’t count in the official tally of the Beijing Games, the victory of Wang somehow softened the impact of the country’s failure to win a breakthrough gold in the quadrennial meet.

For his feat, Wang will also be handed out a major award by the country’s oldest media organization composed of editors and sportswriters of the various daily broadsheets and tabloids during the two-hour rite sponsored by the Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor).

Other recipients of the major award aside from Wang are golfers Jennifer Rosales, Dorothy Delasin, Dottie Ardina and Angelo Que, Wesley So (chess), Nonito Donaire (pro boxing), Kelly Williams (pro basketball), Dennis Orcollo (billiards), Jonathan Hernandez (horseracing), Ibarra and Go Army (horseracing).

The 2008 Athlete of the Year honor will be conferred on Manny Pacquiao, who’s also being enshrined in the PSA Hall of Fame. The 30-year old boxing idol won all his three fights in three different weight divisions last year, most remarkable of which being his eighth round demolition of ring great Oscar De La Hoya.

Others who shone for wushu last year are Mark Eddiva, also gold medal winner (65 kg) in the Asian Wushu Championship, Mary Jane Estimar, silver medalist (52 kg sanshou) in the Beijing meet, and the 56 kg pair of Benjie Rivera and Marian Mariano, who brought home bronze medals in the same meet held in the Chinese capital.

Past winners of the Outstanding NSA award are taekwondo and badminton (2004), dragon boat (2005), boxing and billiards and snooker (2006) and swimming (2007).

The SMC-PSA Awards Night is being supported by the Villar Foundation, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Shakey’s, Accel, PBA, PBL, NCRAA, PCSO, SBP, Purefoods, Ginebra, Alaska, Sta. Lucia, Rain or Shine, Ever Bilena, Harbour Centre, Liga Pilipinas, Secretary Lito Atienza, Pharex, GAB and Mighty Sports Association.