China dominate wushu sanda at Chengdu World Games with three golds

China emerged as the biggest winners in wushu sanda at the 2025 Chengdu World Games at home on Tuesday, claiming three gold medals and one silver in six finals.

In the women's 52kg bout, China's Chen Mengyue entered to loud cheers and scored repeatedly with effective kicks, cruising past India's Namrata Batra 2-0 in the best-of-three match. Namrata's silver medal marked India's first-ever podium finish in wushu at the Chengdu World Games.

Later on the day, Chen's compatriot Li Zhiqin continued her strong form by defeating Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy 2-0 to claim the 60kg gold medal.

"I'm very happy to win gold again here in Chengdu," said Li, who also won at the Chengdu Universiade two years ago. "With more and more strong competitors from all around the world, it reflects wushu's global influence."

In the women's 70kg sanda final, China's Zhu Hailan won the first round but lost the next two to Iran's Seyedah Yasaman Bagherzadehvaskas, who took the gold.

Tang Sishuo secured China's third gold of the night by dominating Vietnam's Do Huy Hoang in the men's 56kg final, winning 12 points in just one round with powerful throws and leg sweeps that repeatedly toppled and even tossed his opponent off the platform.

Egypt's Alhussein Wahdan edged Iran's Mohammadreza Rigi 2-1 for the men's 85kg title, while South Korea's Song Gicheol beat Cheung Yat-lam of China's Hong Kong 2-1 in the men's 70kg final.

Sanda is a full-contact combat sport similar to kickboxing, featuring three women's and three men's weight classes at the World Games, with bouts refereed as in boxing.