Malaysian wushu champion Tan Cheong Min is proud of how far the sport has come - and how far it could still go.

The 27-year-old made history last year as the first Malaysian to win a wushu gold medal at the World University Games in Chengdu, China, claiming top honours in the Nanquan+Nandao event. She also picked up two gold medals at the World Wushu Championships in Brasilia, Brazil.

"The gold medal was not just for me, but for the sport and the global wushu community," she told Bernama. "It was something historic."

Cheong Min sees her achievements as part of a broader evolution of the sport, noting that earlier generations of Malaysian exponents had far fewer opportunities to compete internationally. She credits wushu's growing global profile for opening doors to emerging talents.

Her bigger ambition, however, is Olympic inclusion.

"Currently, wushu is not contested at the Olympic Games. Hopefully, through platforms like the World Games, one day the sport will be included," she said.

Closer on the horizon is the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, where the 2022 Hangzhou silver medallist is setting her sights on gold - fully aware of the challenge posed by dominant China.

"In sports, anything can happen. Impossible or otherwise, we will fight to achieve it," she said.

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