By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense wushu athlete Carlos Baylon, Jr. was among those recognized by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) as monthly achievers for April.

The Negros Occidental’s La Carlota City-native delivered an impressive showing at the International Wushu Federation 10th Sanda World Cup in Jiangyin, China.

In the said competition, Baylon anchored a one-gold, two-bronze haul for the country.

Competing in the men’s 56-kilogram class, Baylon pulled off a stunning 2-1 victory over 2024 Wushu World Championship bronze medalist Hio Lam Ku of Macau in the semifinal round.

In the finals, he prevailed over Saydullo Abdurashitov of Uzbekistan, 2-0.

“I’m so happy. After playing for so many years, I finally won the gold medal and the World Cup,” the 27-year-old Baylon said.

Sydney Sy Tancontian of sambo, Allain Ganapin of para-taekwondo, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, tennis player Alex Eala, as well as the surfing and kickboxing teams were the other monthly achievers./ASC, WDJ