During the 10th World Junior Wushu Championships (WJWC) in Tianjin, Ndeye Hadji Kane, Wushu Competition Manager for the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games (Dakar 2026, YOG), attended the event and gave an exclusive interview. She elaborated on topics including the integration of Wushu with the Olympic spirit, preparations for the Wushu competition at the Games, cross-cultural exchanges, and the referential significance of the Tianjin championships, while voicing her earnest hope for the further development and promotion of Wushu across Africa.

On the connection between Wushu and the Olympic spirit, Kane pointed out that the two not only have their own distinctive characteristics but also share strong core commonalities. Wushu is more than a competitive sport; it carries a profound cultural essence of harmony and balance. While the Olympic spirit places greater emphasis on striving for breakthroughs in competition, it shares a high degree of alignment with Wushu in the core values of friendship and respect. She noted that Wushu’s debut as an official event at Dakar 2026 will not only open a window for young people around the world to appreciate fine traditional Chinese culture, but also further advance the mutual integration and inheritance of the Wushu spirit and the Olympic spirit.

Preparation for the Wushu competition at Dakar 2026 is progressing steadily. Kane revealed that the International Wushu Federation (IWUF) is collaborating efficiently with all its partners to fine-tune every detail of the event. The goal is to build the Wushu contest into a landmark event with first-class experience and outstanding influence in African sports history, guaranteeing a high-quality, top-standard presentation.

Kane holds full confidence in the development prospects of Wushu in Africa. She noted that wrestling, the national sport of Senegal, shares similar traits with Wushu, providing a natural foundation for cultural integration between the two disciplines. As such, African youth can easily embrace and grow fond of Wushu. According to social media statistics, the release of the Wushu competition schedule for Dakar 2026 has already drawn massive attention and likes, and the upcoming official contests are expected to attract large numbers of spectators to the venue. She expressed her hope that the YOG platform will not only promote the full popularization and development of Wushu across Africa, but also enable China-Africa cultural exchanges to yield more fruitful results and carry such achievements onto an even broader global stage.

After observing the full schedule of WJWC in Tianjin, Kane highly commended the event’s organization and offered her special congratulations to the Tianjin Organizing Committee, describing the championships as a well-run, spectacular and high-level international competition. She acknowledged gaining highly practical and valuable experience covering event operation, on-site execution and logistics support. She added that the successful model and mature practices of the Tianjin event will be adopted in the preparation for the Wushu competition at Dakar 2026, with the aim of staging a top-class Wushu event in Africa and upholding the same level of professionalism and excellence.