Wushu at Chengdu World Games Photo: VCG

Host China remains on top of the medal table at the Chengdu World Games on Tuesday, with 18 golds, 6 silvers and 2 bronzes. Niche sports such as wushu, squash and beach handball took the spotlight, drawing crowds of spectators.

China's wushu sanda team claimed three gold medals on Tuesday. Chen Mengyue won the women's 52kg final, Li Zhiqin took the women's 60kg title, and Tang Sishuo secured the men's 56kg gold.

Originating in China, after thousands of years of development, wushu has gradually evolved from practical combat skills into a comprehensive sport that combines fitness, performance, and competition, characterized by distinctive offensive and defensive techniques and profound cultural significance, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Wushu made its debut at the 2009 World Games as an invitational sport. In 2025, it is being featured for the first time as an official competition event, with two disciplines: taolu (routines) and sanda. In a sanda bout, two athletes, one in red and one in blue, compete in weight-based divisions, using wushu's punching, kicking, and throwing techniques to engage in close-range combat. 

Compared with many Western combat sports like boxing, wushu remains a "new face" on the international stage.

"Previously more popular in Asia, its inclusion as an official World Games event now allows more countries to experience this Chinese full-contact combat sport," Guo Ai, a sports commentator based in Beijing, told the Global Times.

In addition to sanda, niche sports such as squash and beach handball also held their finals on Tuesday. Squash is a spectator-friendly indoor racquet sport. With its inclusion as an official event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, its early debut at the World Games provides an important opportunity to promote the sport globally. 

On the diverse competitive stage of the World Games, doors have also opened for athletes with disabilities. The finals of para-jiu-jitsu, which is divided into three categories: physical disability, visual impairment, and intellectual disability, were held on Tuesday.

"Events for athletes with disabilities highlight the philosophy of 'sports without boundaries, everyone can participate,'" Chen Zhi, deputy director of the Department of Sports (Doping Control) of the Chengdu World Games Organizing Committee, told media on Monday. 

He noted that para-sports are being included in the World Games for the second time, with both the number of events and participating athletes exceeding those of the previous edition.

According to Chen, starting from Tuesday, 18 major sports with 23 sub-disciplines, including US football, freestyle kickboxing, drone racing, powerboating, triathlon, and ground bowling, will gradually begin. Among them, drone racing and other debuting events have drawn significant attention.

The drone racing competition is scheduled for Thursday. Zhou Jian, director of the Longquanyi Venue Cluster Committee, said that to enhance the viewing experience, two large LED screens 90 square meters in size have been installed on site to clearly capture and display real-time pilot operations. Using the drone's "eyes," spectators can experience the racecourse at high speed from a first-person perspective.