10 Things About Chan Lu Yi - an all rounder high achiever
She joined the national wushu team two years ago, and started training in Bukit Jalil and won more medals including two golds (for taijijian and taijiquan) at the World Taiji Wushu Championships 2014, a bronze at the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games 2014, one gold, one silver and one bronze at SEA Games Singapore 2015 and one gold and one silver in the 8th Asian Junior Championships.
On top of her wushu achievements, Chan is also a straight-As student and is currently studying Foundation in Science at the International Medical University with ambitions to become a doctor.
Here, Chan shares her training regime and her ambitions with us.
In her own words:
I started wushu when I was seven years old because of a suggestion by my parents’ friend so my parents let me learn and that’s when I started to train. I think wushu is interesting and a beautiful artistic sport. It is something I enjoy.
I entered the state squad when I was 12 years old because I was selected. From that time, I started to compete and I got results so in 2013, I was chosen to join the national squad. That’s when I moved to KL, when I was 16.
I don’t waste time on unimportant things like playing games or watching television. I must know how to manage my time. Besides playing wushu, I also like to read. When I have free time, I study. I do go out and relax on weekends, sometimes to hang out with my friends or to go shopping. Sometimes I do watch movies with them too, I like to watch comedy.
I’m now studying Foundation in Science in IMU. I want to be a doctor but I’ve not decided what type of doctor I want to be yet. Each week, I train six days a week and each day, I train about five hours. I train for two hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. For the training sessions, I have to do wushu training, gym training and skills training.
This was the first time I participated in the world championship. I didn’t expect to win gold, I just wanted to do my best. I don’t really have a target of winning which medal, I just concentrated on doing my best and try not to make any mistakes. I feel happy and lucky to win the championship as it is really out of expectations for me to become a world champion.
I will train in wushu for as long as I can, perhaps until I start studying medicine, then maybe I will stop. Medicine is quite tough so if I really can’t balance both studying and wushu, I may have to give up wushu.
I think it is not a waste to give it up as it teaches me a lot. I gained a lot of previous experiences through it. I have always wanted to be a doctor because I think the feeling of helping a patient to recover from pain and disease is awesome.
When I’m training, I must have the right mindset and be positive in it, I must be focused and have a target so that I train towards my target. Whenever I train, I have a goal to train and be as skilled as my wushu senior. I aim to become like one of my seniors, Chai Fong Ying, she’s a world champion also in the taiji category.
When I train for a competition, my friends, family and coaches motivate me. One must always keep a positive mind and know clearly what you want to achieve. My next target for now is to win the second world taiji wushu championship in next year.
To be a national athlete, you have to know what you want and work hard towards your goal. It is best to balance to your education and the training, if you can do it. I think the sports helps with my education, it refreshes me and I’m healthier so my body is not weak. I’ve a younger sister who is also in wushu in the state team.