A costly landing: A shaky finish leaves Cheong Min with bronze

By the Editorial Team · Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Tan Cheong Min won a bronze medal in wushu at the Asian Games, ending Malaysia’s 12-year pursuit of gold in the sport. Despite a costly mistake in the sword event, her strong overall performance secured her a podium finish, and Malaysia’s remaining athletes are set to compete in their combined events later today.

Tan Cheong Min settled for a bronze medal in the wushu competition at the Asian Games, ending Malaysia’s 12-year quest for gold in the sport. The 28-year-old athlete’s hopes were dashed after a less-than-flawless landing during the sword discipline at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall.

Cheong Min’s performance in the afternoon sword routine placed her sixth with a score of 9.663 points. However, her strong morning showing in the nanquan discipline, where she earned 9.726 points—the second highest score of the session—helped secure her an overall aggregate score of 19.389 points, enough for the bronze medal.

China’s Zhang Yaling secured the gold with a combined score of 19.569 points, while Uzbekistan’s Darya Latisheva took silver with 19.413 points. This marks the second time Cheong Min has reached the Asian Games podium in the same event, having won a silver medal in Hangzhou three years ago during her Asiad debut.

Reflecting on her performance, Cheong Min expressed disappointment at not meeting her goal of winning at least a silver or contending for gold. She attributed her result to an error during the nandao event, where a shaky landing resulted in deductions. “I do feel a little regret as I wanted to do better for the Malaysian contingent and also for myself because we had been preparing for so long,” she said.

Despite the setback, Cheong Min acknowledged some measure of fortune in securing a medal. “My performance was not perfect but I am still pleased and grateful that all our hard work got us the bronze at least,” she added.

Cheong Min, who hails from Melaka and is a world champion in the nangun (stick) discipline from a competition in Brazil last year, remains one of Malaysia’s top wushu athletes.

Looking ahead, Malaysia’s final two wushu athletes, Clement Ting and Pang Pui Yee, were scheduled to compete in their respective combined events later the same day. Pang Pui Yee was set to participate in the women’s jianshu and qiangshu combined event, while Clement Ting was entered in the men’s daoshu and gunshu combined event.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.