From herding cattle to grabbing medals — young sanda athlete defies odds to reign at World University Games

Were it not for wushu, Ma Yigu would likely still be herding cows in the Daliang Mountains of Sichuan province.

But the 21-year-old, a member of the Yi ethnic group, has punched his way past life's obstacles to pursue his sporting dreams, with his hard work yielding a gold medal in the men's 60-kilogram sanda (Chinese kickboxing) event at the recent Chengdu FISU World University Games.

Ma Yigu hopes it's just the first of many major titles he will collect on the world stage.

"Without wushu, I would not have been able to become who I am now. Sports have changed my life. I hope more kids in the mountains can enjoy and embrace wushu and sports. That will change their life trajectories," said Ma Yigu, who represented Chengdu Sport University at the FISU games, which concluded on Aug 8 in the capital of Sichuan province.

"This is the first time I've competed in an international event, but that was a home game for me. The moment I won gold felt so surreal. When I stood on the highest podium, I just thought about my childhood when I was herding cows in the mountains.

"Back then, that me would not have believed that I would win a gold medal at such a major event. I have learned a lot and have made many improvements. My next goal is the Asian Games and then the world championships."

Born in Mianning county in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Ma Yigu spent much of his youth working as a herdsman in the mountains. When his farm work was done for the day, watching Chinese kung fu movies was his favorite way to unwind. For the young mountain boy, becoming a kung fu master was now the dream.

By devoting his every spare minute to wushu — in particular sanda — Ma Yigu began to turn that fantasy into a reality. However, as the youngest boy of his family, fitting his athletic endeavors into an already demanding schedule was far from easy.

Ma Yigu told China Daily that his day would begin at 7 am, herding cows on the mountain. School started at 10:30 am, but he needed to make sure the cows had returned home before he made it to the classroom.

"I had to study, practice and help our family with the farmwork. Sometimes, I would read or practice when I was herding. And that's usually when the cows wandered off. If that happened, I would need to search for them for a long time and I would be late to school. That was really stressful," recalled Ma Yigu.

Even before he discovered sanda, Ma Yigu displayed a natural talent for combat sports. He said he was able to defeat much older and larger boys when he took part in the Yi's traditional wrestling bouts in the county.

Later, Ma Yigu's ability was spotted by a sanda training center in his county, and that was his first step to finding a way out of the Daliang Mountains.

In 2013, he was selected for the local Liangshan sanda team, and two years later he was called up to the Sichuan provincial squad. In 2019, Ma Yigu won the men's 56kg gold at a national youth sanda championship; later that year, he topped the podium once more at the Second National Youth Games.

But while he was rising the ranks, he initially struggled with the step up in quality of his opponents.

"When I competed at provincial level for the first time, I only managed to finish fifth. Winning was too hard for me. When I was younger, I used to get really nervous during competitions," said Ma Yigu.

"What keeps me moving forward is my passion and love for the sport. I can be super focused once I start to compete. And the sport taught me to never give up easily."

Like father, like son

Ma Yigu's passion for the sport was also nurtured by his wushu-enthusiast father, Ma Gutizi, who was effectively his first coach.

"My father needed to work outside our county, but whenever he was back home, he would push me to train. Every morning, he would make sure I got up to go for a run. He also bought me sandbags which I used for my leg workouts," said Ma Yigu.

Ma Gutizi admitted he could barely contain his excitement when his son claimed gold in Chengdu.

"The entire family gathered together to watch it on the TV. His hard work had finally paid off," said Ma Gutizi. "Because he is busy with his training and studies, he has little time to come back home. But he always phones us, and when he returns, I will make sure to prepare his favorite dishes to celebrate his victory in Chengdu."

Ma Gutizi is especially proud of the role he played in his son's formative years in the sport.

"I liked wushu when I was kid, and my son was influenced by me and found his passion in the sport. I always support him to chase his sanda dreams. He has done well, and he has brought honor to the nation and our family. I hope he can achieve more in the sport and maintain his sporting spirit," Ma Gutizi said.

There's no doubt Ma Yigu is grateful to his devoted dad. "My father worked very hard for me and the entire family," he said. "In the future, I hope to win more events and earn more prize money, so I can build a bigger house for my father in our village. That's how I want to repay him."