Three days after the official opening ceremony lit up the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion in Macao, the 11th IWUF Sanda World Cup reaches its final day today - with 17 gold medals, weeks of preparation, and the most exclusive sanda card of the year all coming down to one closing session. EUWUSHU.TV is following the action live, with full coverage of the medal day.

A flagship opening for a flagship event

The Sanda World Cup is one of the International Wushu Federation's six official flagship events, and the 11th edition - the first ever staged in Macao, China - opened on Tuesday, May 12 with a ceremony attended by a who's who of international wushu leadership.

IWUF Vice President Sherif Mostafa, IWUF Vice President and President of the Wushu General Association of Macau Chan Weng Kit, IWUF Secretary General Zhang Yuping, and IWUF Treasurer Ang Mong Seng were joined on stage by Wan Sucheng, Director of the Department of Publicity and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR. Macao's own sports and tourism leadership turned out in force: Acting President of the Macao SAR Government Sports Bureau Lei Si Leng, Head of Tourism Product and Events Department Ip Weng San, and Acting Head of the Department of the Education and Youth Development Bureau Lei Im Kei all attended in official capacities.

IWUF Executive Board Members Mahdi Alinejad, Julian Camacho, Chong Kim Fatt, and Marcus Alves rounded out the federation's presence on the stage. Athletes, judges, and team officials from all 21 participating countries and regions witnessed the formal opening of the competition.

"A vivid reflection of wushu's global progress"

In his opening address, IWUF Vice President Sherif Mostafa thanked the Macao SAR Government Sports Bureau and the Wushu General Association of Macao for what he called "strong support and great commitment" to staging the event.

"Macao has demonstrated exceptional organizational capability and a deep wushu heritage," Mostafa said. "The hosting of this edition of the Sanda World Cup in Macao is not only a renewed partnership with this charming city, but also a vivid reflection of wushu's global progress." He encouraged the athletes in the hall to "uphold the spirit of wushu, compete with style and skill, and build friendships through wushu, so that wushu culture may shine through exchange and mutual learning."

Chan Weng Kit, speaking on behalf of the local organizing committee, welcomed the athletes and delegations and committed the organizers to delivering "a professional, safe, fair, just, and open competition environment" - one designed to give the world's sanda elite "an international stage to showcase their talents, exchange skills, and enhance friendship." He thanked the IWUF, the Macao SAR Government Sports Bureau, the sponsors, and the staff, and welcomed the delegations to "a city where Eastern and Western cultures blend harmoniously."

Athlete representative Un Iat Wai and judge representative Joanna Monika then took the stage to deliver the athletes' and judges' oaths - solemn commitments to uphold sportsmanship, abide by the competition rules, and officiate with fairness and impartiality. Organizing Committee Chairman Chan Weng Kit presented commemorative World Cup souvenirs to IWUF Executive Board Member Mahdi Alinejad and Acting Director of the Sports Bureau Lei Si Leng, before the assembled guests gathered for a group photograph and an official toast. IWUF Secretary General Zhang Yuping then declared the 11th Sanda World Cup officially open.

A wushu performance followed, blending classical taolu with traditional cultural showcase. Guests and athletes were treated to a sampling of Macao's signature cuisine in what organizers described as a warm and joyful evening - a fitting prelude to three days of high-level competition.

The competition: tight, elite, decisive

When the bell rang on Wednesday, May 13, the field had narrowed to its essential character. 110 total participants had arrived in Macao for the World Cup - including nearly 60 athletes alongside coaches, judges, and team officials - representing 21 countries and regions. The athletes are competing for 17 gold medals across 17 weight categories: 11 in the men's events and 6 in the women's events.

China sent the largest squad with 8 athletes, followed by host Macao with 4 and Hong Kong with 2. The remainder of the field is drawn from federations across Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania - every athlete present having earned the right to compete by finishing in the top three of their weight category at the 17th World Wushu Championships in Brasília last September.

Among the storylines worth watching: Indonesia's strong women's contingent, with Tharisa Dea Florentina in the women's 52kg (a SEA Games 2023 and 2025 gold medalist, returning to face Vietnam's Thi Phuong Nga Ngo), Nasya Aulia Zahra Wahana at 48kg drawn against China's Du Yuxia, and Freddy Sinaga in the men's 52kg facing Vietnam's Van Tam Dinh. "I have beaten her before," Florentina said of her Vietnamese opponent in pre-event remarks.

"I am optimistic I can do it again. Hopefully I can deliver a result at World Cup 2026." Indonesia's head sanda coach Victor confirmed pre-event that "the athletes are in good shape and ready to compete."

Behind the established Asian powers - China, Vietnam, Iran - the eyes of the European wushu community are on Italy, France, Portugal, and Switzerland, the four federations whose breakthrough performances at the 10th Sanda World Cup in Jiangyin last April signalled a shift in continental competitiveness. Whether that momentum carries through to Macao will be answered in today's medal bouts.

Macao's moment

This is more than just another edition of the Sanda World Cup. It is the first time Macao has hosted the world's highest-level wushu sanda event - a milestone for a region that has, over the past decade, built one of the most consistently effective wushu programmes in the IWUF system. At the 17th World Wushu Championships in Brasília last September, Macao delivered 1 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze across taolu and sanda - a remarkable haul for a delegation of its size. The decision to host this World Cup in Macao confirms what those results have suggested: this is now a major sanda city.

The choice of Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion as the competition venue speaks to that ambition. A modern, broadcast-ready arena in the heart of Macao, it places the World Cup at the city's cultural and tourism core - exactly the visibility the organizing committee was looking for.

What today decides

Today's session sees the final bouts in every weight category. By the close of competition, all 17 gold medals will have been awarded, the medal table will be settled, and the 11th IWUF Sanda World Cup will go into the books as the third major IWUF event of an extraordinary 2026 spring - alongside the 10th World Junior Wushu Championships in Tianjin and the 5th World Taijiquan Championships in Burgas.

What follows from here is the long summer build-up to wushu's historic Olympic debut at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games this November - a chapter for which today's results in Macao will form important context. For sanda, Macao 2026 will be remembered as the moment the world's elite reconvened on the leitai and proved, once again, why this discipline holds such a central place in the global wushu story.

Watch live - and stay with us for the medal recap

EUWUSHU.TV is bringing the medal day live, and will publish a full medal recap, results breakdown, and European athlete summary at the close of competition tonight.