Aniyan Midhun, a Kerala youth who had won gold at the South Asian Wushu Championship held in Nepal in 2021, is all set to participate in World Pro Wushu Sanda Fight 2022 to be held in Thailand on June 2.
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Hailing from Nattika in Thrissur district, 29-year-old Midhun is the first player from South India to make it to the Indian Wushu team.
“Unlike Amateur Wushu, Pro Wushu is a more challenging as you will not wear chest guard or headgear, but only gloves. I am proud that I represent the country. I will be fighting martial art practitioners from countries such as China, Thailand and the U.S.A.,” says Midhun.
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He is participating in the 70-kg category. He has been training under Kuldeep Hundu, Arjuna awardee and head coach of Indian Wushu.
A lesser-known sport, Wushu is a martial art and full-contact sport similar to Kung Fu.
“Even now, only a few have heard about Wushu. I think Wushu has to be popularised further here. I would like to take up the mission of making the sport popular,” he said. Midhun’s ultimate objective is to make it to the Olympics.