Panaji: Team Goa (India) reigned supreme on the last day of Wushu competitions to finish with 92 medals and emerge over all champions at the third edition of the 2014 Lusofonia Games in Goa.
The final day of Wushu at the Multipurpose Indoor Stadium in Peddem was dedicated to bouts of Sanshou, or Sanda sub-disciplines.
After winning quick medals in Taolu on Tuesday, Team Goa-India's Wushu athletes stepped onto the mat to finish the final rounds of Taolu with Dual Events in Men's and Women's categories.
India's finest Wushu talent, Chirag Sharma and Anjul Namdeo sealed the fate of Macau (China) by winning Gold in the Men's category.
However, Macau (China) fought back in the Women's category and clinched Gold.
Team Goa (India) had to settle with a silver.
The rounds of Sanshou turned out to be the highlight of the Wushu event at Lusofonia Games, Goa - 2014.
Moving on from the preliminary rounds that were held on Day 1, the final rounds of Sanshou were in stark contrast to the graceful and elegant stances of Taolu.
The adrenaline rush of power punches and stinging kicks filled the air as India went on to dominate and win Gold in all the matches in Sanshou.
India's whitewash campaign was 'kick-started' by Sandhyarani Devi.
The Arjuna awardee drew first blood with her very first punch that almost knocked out Portugal's Vania Gisela in Women's Under 60 kg category.
Amidst constantly raining punches, the Portuguese athlete was immediately pushed on to her back foot.
After a series of strong blows and power kicks, the Portuguese athlete soon accepted defeat.
The second match of Sanshou, between Khalida Bano of Team Goa -India and Portugal's Ana Fernandes proved to be a one-sided affair.
Fernandes had no reply to the heavy blows of Bano and within minutes of toying around, Team Goa-India defeated Portugal.
In another match, Arjuna Awardee Mayanglambam Bimolji went on to dominate Goncalo Pinto in the Men's under 65 kg category.
Bimolji, who was nursing an injured foot, concentrated more on defending and using his might to throw the opponent outside the ring.
Soon, the Indian athlete had done enough damage to his opponent to win Gold.
Other Indian athletes, Pardeep Kumar and Beishnop Phijam followed suit and won their respective matches against their opponents.
Speaking about her performance, Sandhyarani Devi of Team Goa-India, said, "My strength lies in my punches and I make the most use of it. After I planted the first punch, I realized that my opponent had gone defensive. Hence, I continued to be aggressive and this strategy worked in my favour." ???
Thus Goa (India) finished with rich haul of 92 medals (37 Gold, 27 Silver and 28 Bronze) to finish first among the 12 countries that took part in the mega event.
While Portugal finished second with 50 medals (18 Gold, 20 Silver and 12 Bronze).
Macau finished third with 38 medals (15 Gold, 9 Silver and 14 Bronze).
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