DHAKA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh Army has topped the medal table in the men's events as the 4-day "16th Bangabandhu National Wushu Championship-2021" came to an end on Sunday.
In the men's standing, Army finished with seven golds, seven silvers and seven bronzes while in the women's table, Army bagged nine golds, eight silvers and three bronzes.
Bangladesh Ansar (a paramilitary auxiliary force) men finished as the runners-up with six golds, four silvers and four bronzes. And in the women's standing, Ansar finished with 11 gold medals, seven silvers and one bronze.
Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen handed over the trophies and prizes among the winners.
Speaking as the chief guest, the Bangladeshi minister said Wushu is now part of 2026 Summer Youth Olympics.
"InshaAllah (if God wills) we will bring gold medals for Bangladesh from Wushu events from Olympics," he said.
In fact, he said Wushu which means martial arts enhances commitment level of people who play it. This game also help boost their (players) skills, mental and physical fitness, he said.
"Wushu makes players disciplined. It is a good game, both as a single and group event," said the minister and added "I'm glad to hear that many of our boys and girls are very good to play this."
According to the minister, those who are sportsmen or work outside under the scorching heat of sunlight hardly suffer from COVID-19 and infection rate of such people are very low.
"I hope our girls and boys will engage themselves in more sports activities and they will defeat COVID through their physical activities," said the minister.
He also expressed the hope that Wushu will reach a special place in the world in the future when Bangladesh athletes will uphold the country's image abroad more with excellent Wushu performance.
A total of 418 competitors including 110 female athletes from 34 teams across Bangladesh entered the tournament.
They competed in various categories for 39 gold, 39 silver and 68 bronze medals.
President of Bangladesh Wushu Federation Abdus Sobhan Golap, also a lawmaker from ruling Bangladesh Awami League party, inaugurated the tournament on Jan. 27. ■
