Rwanda concludes national Kung Fu championships

KIGALI, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Rwandan National Kung Fu Championships was concluded on Sunday in the capital city of Kigali, where over 120 players competed for the champions in the final.

Over 200 players from across the country participated in preliminary contests of Chinese Kung Fu held in Kigali and different provinces since Nov. 12. After nearly a month of competition, the winners advanced to the final.

The finalists competed at Petit Stade stadium under categories of Kung Fu routines and Sanda. The routines competitors demonstrated five-step boxing, long boxing, cudgel play, spear play and other Kung Fu routines. The youngest finalist was only 4 years old.

National Kung Fu Championships was hosted by Rwanda Kung Fu Wushu Federation and Confucius Institute at Universtiy of Rwanda/College of Education. The championships also gets support from Chinese Embassy in Rwanda and Association of Chinese Enterprises in Rwanda.

Cultural and people-to-people exchanges should never be ignored when we talk about the Sino-Rwandan relations, said Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda Rao Hongwei in the final. Kung Fu is an important cultural bridge linking the two countries, said Rao.

"I hope that Rwandans will not only get skills to defend themselves and improve health by learning Kung Fu, but also get to know the core value of Kung Fu, which is hard work, sheer tenacity, courage and integrity," said the envoy.

China is the country which supports Rwanda in different sectors, but some didn't know that China also supports Rwanda in sports, said Marc Uwiragiye, President of the Rwanda National Olympic and Sports Committee. Enditem