KUALA LUMPUR: Bryan Ti was not supposed to be in Macau, but the Malaysian wushu team were glad he came along.
It was Bryan who ended Malaysia's 20-year wait for a gold medal in the Nanquan discipline at the Asian Championships.
Bryan's higher difficulty level landed him the gold after all the three podium finishers collected 9.696 points each.
South Korea's Yun Dong Hae took silver while the bronze went to Vietnam's Nong Van Huu.
Malaysia's last gold medal at the Asian Championships came from Ho Ro Bin in the Nandao event in 2004 in Yangon.
Malaysian Wushu Federation (MWF) president Datuk Chong Kim Fatt revealed that the 20-year-old Bryan was a last- minute inclusion in the team in place of Calvin Lee who
is due to retire.
He added that the MFW had sent a young team to prepare for the 2025 Thailand Sea Games.
"Bryan had an excellent performance today... he was not supposed to compete as we were supposed to send senior Calvin who finished fourth in the Hangzhou Asian Games, but he was given the chance as Calvin wanted to retire," said Kim Fatt.
"He performed without pressure today, and we didn't expect him to win.
"He's a good prospect for the Asian Games as for 20 years we have not won the gold medal in the men's event."
RESULTS
Men
Nanquan: 1. Bryan Ti (Mas) 9.696, 2. Yun Dong Hae (Kor) 9.690, 3. Nong Van Huu (Vie) 9.690.
Qiangshu: 1. Ao Xu (Chn) 9.800, 2. Chi Hin Kuong (Mac) 9.700, 3. Nguyen Van Sy (Vie) 9.690, 4. Si Shin Peng (Mas) 9.686.
Daoshu: 1. Gao Xiaobin (Chn) 9.806, 2. Vu Van Tuan (Vie) 9.693, 3. Ong Zi Meng (Sin) 9.690, 4. Clement Ting (Mas) 9.686.
Selected: 20. Mohd Danish Aizad (Mas) 8.830.
Women
Taijijian: 1. Wu Xu (Chn) 9.746, 2. Zeanne Law (Sin) 9.696, 3. Shiho Saito (Jpn) 9.693.
Selected: 5. Mandy Cebelle Chan (Mas) 9.686, 8. Sydney Chin (Mas) 9.680.
Gunshu: 1. Zheng Yibin (Chn) 9.790, 2. Kana Ikeuchi (Jpn) 9.680, 3. Cho Man Sou (Mac) 9.673, 4. Lee Jia Rong (Mas) 9.673.
Qiangshu: 1. Wang Yawen (Chn) 9.796, 2. Kida Nanoha (Jpn) 9.696, 3. Wong Weng Ian (Mac) 9.670, 4. Pang Pui Yee (Mas) 9.666.