Three athletes from Famalicão—Lara Marques, Tiago Mesquita, and Tomás Nunes—made their mark on the global stage at the 10th World Junior Wushu Championships in Tianjin, China. Representing Portugal through the national team of the Portuguese Federation of Chinese Martial Arts, they achieved two 10th-place finishes and six top-20 rankings across nine events.

The competition, held from March 23 to 31, featured around 700 athletes and over 1,100 total participants from 78 countries across five continents. Each athlete competed in three modern wushu events, and notably, the trio from Famalicão were the only representatives of Portugal at the championship.

According to coaches Alexandre Oliveira and Ana Rita Rego, the athletes showed clear progress.

“Their participation was marked by a noticeable technical evolution, reflecting continuous, demanding, and increasingly high-quality work,” they said. 

They also highlighted the overall growth of the sport, noting the rising number of participants and the increasing global technical level.

Following their performances, Lara, Tiago, and Tomás are now preparing for the European Wushu Championship, which will take place in early May in Lyon, France.

Their results reflect both individual improvement and the continued development of Portuguese wushu on the international stage.

 

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