Agatha Wong completed her redemption arc by successfully defending her women’s taijiquan-taijijian crown at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games wushu competitions on Sunday at the Ratthaprasasanphakdi Building Government Complex in Bangkok, Thailand.
After finishing seventh in taijijian at the 2025 World Games — following a tough battle in that segment — Wong ensured a stronger outcome this time. She backed up her impressive barehanded form with an equally commanding performance in the sword routine.
“Even at an early age, I didn’t think I was meant for this future. I just want to try to do my best because it is not every day you are given an opportunity to represent your country,” said the 27-year-old wushu star.
“So now that I’ve ended the year with a gold, I’m really happy.”
Wong edged out her rival, Brunei Darussalam’s Basma Lachar, by a razor-thin margin of three thousandths of a point — 9.783 to 9.780 — in the taijijian, for a total score of 19.556.
Lachar took the silver with 19.546, while Malaysia’s Sydney Sy Xuan Chin leveraged her strong taijiquan performance to claim bronze with 19.523.
(C) POC Media
With this victory, Wong collected her sixth SEA Games gold, firmly establishing herself as the region’s queen of taijiquan and taijijian. The win also cemented her world-class status after claiming bronze in taijiquan at the World Championships earlier this year in Brasilia, Brazil.
The University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Medical Center student first burst onto the scene with a silver medal at the 2015 World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia.
She then made her SEA Games debut at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur edition, where she earned two medals — a gold in taijiquan and a silver in taijijian. Two years later, competing on home soil, she captured the titles in both events.
“I feel like every time I go to the SEA Games, I feel like I’m going to lose. I flew to Bangkok scared, but I’m going home a champion, so it’s very emotional for me,” Wong shared.
Wong’s victory jump-started the wushu team’s campaign for more medals — and possibly more golds — as the competitions continue on the sanda mat until Monday.
