Taijiquan & Taijijuan, Women

The Taijiquan style of wushu is related to what in the west is known as “T’ai chi”. The competitive form is less relaxed than its famous relative, and features many difficult elements like jumps and balances. The taijijian event uses the jian (a double-edged straight sword). At the World Championships, both events are held separately, but these were combined for the Olympic exhibition.

The two favored athletes in the field were China’s Cui Wenjuan, the 2007 taijijian World Champion, and Chai Fong Ying of Malaysia, who had claimed the same title in the taijiquan. Cui turned out to be superior in both disciplines, establishing a clear margin of victory over Chai.