When will Olympics be game for kung fu?

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

Beijing, Aug 22: You've seen it in the Matrix. Bruce Lee is its most famous proponent. Now practitioners hope that wushu, more commonly known as kung fu, will be contested at the Olympics.

Wushu's backers are trying to cram the millennia-old art on to a packed Olympics calendar, arguing a growing following. They claim a victory for a sport that for the first time held an unofficial competition on the sidelines of the Games in Beijing. China's growing clout, hit films such as Kung Fu Panda and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and international stars Jet Li and Jackie Chan have helped the martial art lure devotees from Vietnam to Sweden.

They have boxing at the Olympics. They have taekwondo. This is all that in one package, said Sarah Ponce, 32, doffing her gloves and vest after a sparring match. She took three months off her job to train and paid her own way from the United States to China.

But it might take more than a decade before wushu's signature whirling kicks and lightning punches will be seen at the Games. The sport needs to carve out a wider professional presence, train referees and find funding before it can get a stamp of approval from the International Olympic Committee.

Sports for the 2012 Olympics have been decided and wushu is not shortlisted for 2016. Its advocates are holding out for 2020.The Games in Beijing showcased 28 sports. In London, the number will fall to 26 after the exit of baseball and softball. And a slew of other sports will be vying for a place in 2016, such as squash, rugby, golf and karate.

The International Wushu Federation is one of the IOC's 31 recognised federations along with cricket, golf, karate.

Wushu will need to prepare for submitting a strong file in 2011, said Jan Fransoo, president of the association of the IOC Recognised International Sports Federation. The 2020 Games would be determined seven years before, he added. Ever since Bruce Lee wielded his double-section staff, more popularly known as the nunchuks, wushu has evolved into a graceful art similar to gymnastic floor exercises.