Aniyan Midhun, a youth from Kerala, has won gold at the World Pro Wushu Sanda Fight 2022 held recently in Thailand.
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Midhun, hailing from Nattika in Thrissur, had earlier won the South Asian Wushu Championship held in Nepal in 2021. He is the first player from southern India to make it to the Indian Wushu team.
Midhun, who represented India in the 70 kg category, fought against contestants from America, Iran, Pakistan, China, and South Africa. He defeated China in the semi-final and South Africa in the final.
“In Pro Wushu, the participants will not wear chest guard or head gear but only gloves. So it is more challenging,” says Midhun. He wants to make the lesser-known martial art Wushu more popular. Wushu is a martial art and full contact sport similar to Kung fu.
Midhun, who has been training under Kuldeep Hundu, Arjuna awardee and head coach of Indian Wushu, wants to make it to the Olympics.