Sanda Premier League set for 2018
The Sanda Premier League will be held in 2018, featuring six clubs from around the country.
The brand new Sanda Premier League will feature six teams from around the country and will kick off in 2018, organizers announced in Shanghai on Thursday.
Jointly organized by the National Sports Bureau’s Wushu Sports Management Center and the Chinese Wushu Association, the Sanda Premier League will be the country’s only sanda tournament where competing participants will represent clubs. The inaugural edition, which will be launched next July, will feature clubs from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Henan, Shandong, as well as a team formed of armed police.
All clubs are required to send their best athletes, who have registered with the sports bureau’s management center. The rules will be drafted by the Chinese Wushu Association, which will also provide referees and other technical support.
The Sanda Premier League will feature seven weight categories from 60 kilograms to 90kg. The clubs can also introduce foreign athletes to make the tournament more international. The tournament will follow a round-robin format before the top two ranked clubs set up a season-ending final.
“The tournament aims at promoting the image of Chinese kung fu by presenting high-level wushu and sanda competitions,” Sun Jianqun, deputy director of the tournament’s organizing committee, said.
