Indonesia Ranks Third in the 2026 Junior Wushu World Championships
JAKARTA - The Indonesian junior wushu national team managed to bring home as many as 27 medals from the 2026 Junior Wushu World Championships, thus qualifying for third place in the final standings.
The tournament took place in Tianjin, China, on March 23-30, 2026. The Red-White youth squad managed to secure nine gold, 11 silver medals, and seven bronze medals.
"The struggle of young Indonesian athletes is extraordinary. They are the future stars who are expected to replace the position of senior athletes," said the General Chairman of the Indonesian Wushu General Manager (PB WI), Airlangga Hartarto, in a statement received.
The results achieved are not much different from the IX Junior Wushu World Championships which took place in Brunei Darussalam in 2024. At that time, Indonesia managed to pocket 29 medals with a breakdown of 10 gold, 10 silver, and nine bronze.
In this year's edition, Hong Kong successfully displaced China's dominance to win the overall championship with a collection of 13 gold medals, seven silver medals, and six bronze medals. China had to settle for second place with 13 gold medals and four silver medals.
From the Indonesian team, Noach Daiki Santoso and Clara Abigail came out as team stars. Both of them contributed two gold medals and one silver medal.
Noach, who appeared in Group A Putra, won two gold medals from the nangun and nandao numbers and silver from naquan. Meanwhile, Clara won gold from the nanquan and nangun numbers and one silver medal from nandao in Group B Putri.
The other five gold medals were contributed by Kay Jayden Rondonuwu (daoshu Group C Boys), Jenny Ngaserin (daoshu Group C Girls), Utiqo Romadhona Ummi Auna (nangun Group A Girls), Terfi Meisa (qiangshu Group C Girls), and Vini Nur Azizah (daoshu Group A Boys).
"I am happy and proud to have won two gold medals in my first appearance at the World Championships. This is a very valuable experience for me and proof that all the hard work and training so far have not been in vain," said Noach.
In the sanda number, Kiemas Sakti Negara failed to defend the gold medal he won at the 2024 Wushu Junior World Championships. Kiemas had to settle for a bronze medal after losing to Karen Sahakyan from Armenia in the semifinals of the 54kg men's class.
The same defeat was also experienced by Adriana Rosa Aurelia when facing Thi Bao Linh Tran from Vietnam in the semifinal match of the 52 kilogram women's class. Aurielia had to settle for a bronze medal.
"We must admit that the competition in the 2026 Junior Wushu World Championships is very tight. What is certain, Kiemas and Aurella have fought to the maximum throughout the fight," said Sudarsono as the Indonesian National Team Manager for sanda.