Dragon Martial Arts School student Sara Healy enjoyed great success at a prestigious international tournament in Beijing.

The 20-year-old was selected by the British Council for Chinese Martial Arts for the 2004 Tianjin Yi ChunJu Lang Cup, after winning the national title earlier in the year.

Shuijtao, which is a form of Chinese wrestling, is a prospective category for the Wushu section of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, in which Healy is in contention for selection off of the back of her success.

The prospective 2008 British Olympic Shuijtao team took home a silver medal from the four-day event, an excellent result in a category which is dominated by the Asian nations.

She fought in the 58-63 kilogrammes category against contenders from Mongolia, China, Chinese Tai Pai, Hong-Kong and Vietnam, winning six of her 13 fights.

Healy was finally seeded sixth, gaining the best result at the tournament by a British woman.

She said: "It was such a fantastic experience and excellent preparation for the Beijing Olympics in 2008."

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Published Friday, December 24, 2004

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