Wushu becomes the official event of Youth Olympic Games.

The Olympic family will officially welcome new members! On the 8th local time, the meeting of the Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee held in Lausanne, Switzerland decided to include Wushu in the official competition of the 4th Youth Olympic Games in 2022. This is the first time that Wushu has been listed as an official event of the Olympic Games series. At the Dakar Youth Games two years later, Wushu, a traditional Chinese sport, will usher in the "first show" of the Olympic Games.

Zhang Zheng, deputy director of the Wushu Sports Management Center of the State Sports General Administration and vice president of the Wushu Research Institute, said in an interview with the Global Times on the 9th that Wushu becoming an official event of the Youth Olympic Games is a key step for Wushu to enter the Olympic family, which is of milestone significance. Wushu, as a treasure of traditional sports in China, bears the Chinese civilization. Entering the Youth Olympic Games this time is a great contribution made by China to the Olympic Movement. In addition, Wushu has realized the organic blending of China culture and Olympic spirit, which is beneficial to the communication between eastern and western countries and nations, especially among teenagers, to stimulate the consumption of sports science and technology, and to enhance the soft power of Chinese culture. In addition, Wushu becoming a Youth Olympic Games event has an irreplaceable role in promoting the spread of Wushu around the world, encouraging more people around the world to know, enter and practice Wushu, and spreading China culture.

"The Dakar Youth Olympic Games expects that these new projects will help Senegalese and even African teenagers to participate in sports," said mark adams, a spokesman for the International Olympic Committee. The Executive Committee meeting held that Wushu is a sport that conforms to the characteristics of teenagers and can bring more opportunities for local teenagers to get in touch with sports and engage in sports. "There are martial arts federations in 39 countries in Africa alone, and there are 159 federations in the world. Wushu is a dynamic sport, and we hope to show the charm of Wushu, which will also be exciting for the audience. "

In fact, "Wushu entering the Olympics" is not a new topic. The International Wushu Federation, established in Beijing in 1990, submitted its application for the Olympic Games to the International Olympic Committee three times in 2001, 2008 and 2011 respectively, and was shortlisted for eight alternative events in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games for the third time, but none of them were selected in the end. The 4th Youth Olympic Games will be held in October, 2022 in Dakar, Senegal. According to the arrangement of the games, 48 athletes from relevant countries and regions in the world will take part in martial arts events, including men’s and women’s long boxing all-around and men’s and women’s Tai Ji Chuan all-around. Among them, Changquan all-around includes Changquan and cudgel, and Tai Ji Chuan all-around includes Tai Ji Chuan and Taiji fan.