Three fighters from the Bermuda Sanshou Association completed a clean sweep at the International Chinese Martial Arts Championships in Orlando.

Samir Furqan, Sentwali Woolridge, and Reyel Bowen each took top honours in their respective classes.

Bowen, making his debut at the competition, won both of his matchups by technical knock out. Furqan and Woolridge were also undefeated and won their weight classes in what was a confidence booster as the fighters prepare for the World Wushu Championships in November.

“I felt that based on the calibre of our fighters and the work that we had done that we should be able to come out on top,” Garon Wilkinson, the BSA president, said.

“Things panned out better than I expected, our guys fought really well.”

The group’s focus is now on the world championship event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia later this year, where they will match up against the best in their sport around the world.

Jermal Woolridge has Bermuda’s lone medal in the competition which includes powerhouses such as China and Iran.

“The World Wushu Championships are quite difficult,” Wilkinson said. “A lot of it has to with the fact that it’s single elimination, so it all depends who you draw.

“We would hope that we would draw easier countries initially because as the rounds go your confidence builds.

“But I think that we have the ability to get a few podium finishes, and it really just depends on how the drawing lots go. I expect us to be in the medals for a few of the divisions.”

The group will spend the next two months refining their basics and getting refocused, before devoting a month to hard sparring to get used to the daily physical toll of the World Championships.

The month leading up to the event will be less intense and focus on technical work to ensure the fighters are in top shape before they represent Bermuda on the world stage.