Philippine National Games triple gold medalists Vanessa Jo Chan and Faith Liana Andaya will lead a team composed of six young athletes from Baguio who will see action in the fourth World Junior Wushu Championships in Macau, China from September 17 to 25.

“There is a bright prospect for these young world-class athletes to bring home medals,” said Wushu Federation of the Philippines (WFP)-Cordillera Chapter president Tony Candelaria.

Candelaria said a team composed of WFP president She Ling Tan and 2008 Olympic wushu demonstrative sports gold medalist Willy Wang in Baguio last week screened the elite junior wushu-taulo players.

Candelaria, the man behind the success of wushu in the northern highland that produced the likes of MMA icon Eduard “The Landslide” Folayang, said the young athletes have been training hard even with the lack of training facilities.

Also chosen were Zerena Redge Dumseng, Christian Nicolas Lapitan, Joel Casim, and Alison Ken Omengan.

Other members of the junior national team are Thornton Quiney Lou Sayan, Eleazar Jacob, Enggelbert Addongan and Natasha Lacsamana.

Veteran Daniel Parantac is the remaining senior player.

Chan might just follow her older brother John Keithley on the road to gold in her favorite female B chang quan, female B short weapon and female B long weapon, where she took the gold in the last staging of the PNG in Dumaguete last month.

The pint-sized Andaya was an instant darling during the Dumaguete games where she equaled Chan’s performance.

Candelaria said members of the national team would not leave for China to train as they have done in the past.

“Why bring them there (China) when it is cheaper to train here with a Chinese coach at hand?” he said.

The World Junior Wushu Championships is an international wushu competition organized by the International Wushu Federation for male and female competitors below 18 years old.