Games-Wushu-Lebanese schoolboy has star spirit

DOHA, Dec 14 (Reuters) Not many 11-year-olds get to brandish a cudgel with the enthusiastic backing of their parents. Fewer still get to travel 2,000 kilometres to do it in front of an audience.

But then, according to his wushu master Chen Chaoyang and his father Albert, Lebanese Vatche Nikoghossian is no ordinary schoolboy.

''I first saw him four years ago, from his body and his spirit I saw that he had something,'' Chen told Reuters today.

''He can certainly be a star but we need time and a lot of work.'' The youngest competitor in the non-contact form of the Chinese martial art, which is making its debut at the 15th Asian Games, Nikoghossian is also one of the most popular.

Loud applause greets the tiny 1.35m figure in powder blue silk pyjamas as he takes the stage dwarfed by his long wooden staff.

The next couple of minutes are a whirl of flowing mid-air spins, savage slams of the cudgel on the mat and dramatic poses with his arms thrust out and his face a scowl of concentration in the style of a mini Jackie Chan.

''It was horrible, horrible. I failed every difficult move,'' was his verdict on the routine which saw him finish last in the Gunshu. ''But I'm going to be around for a few Asian Games. I'm little and I got 7.80, so when I'm older I'll get 9.80.'' NO NOVELTY This is no novelty, however, no whim of a rich kid pandered to by indulgent parents. Nikoghossian trains for up to two and half hours a day, seven days a week.

''I started with the idea of making him physically well,'' his father said.

''When Master Chen said he thought one day he could be a star, I thought that without the support of his parents, he could do nothing. He has this power, so now we train professionally.

''Sometimes it's difficult, sometimes he cries. We push him a bit, but when he comes to compete in places like this he wants to do even more.

''Yesterday he was shaking and said he felt a lot of pressure and asked me, 'how can I do better, they're all better than me?'.'' Training continued throughout the Israeli bombing of Beirut in August and Vatche and his father had to take the road to Damascus to get out of the country for the inaugural world junior championships in Malaysia, where he finished eighth.

''Sometimes it's tough but he's a really strong boy,'' said Beijinger Chen. ''He's different. He understands.'' Nikoghossian was clearly enjoying the attention he has received in Doha.

''It's great because you get popular,'' he said. ''But also every five steps someone wants a picture.'' PLAY AND EAT With his three-event contest over, he said he would ''play and eat like kids usually do'' and then it's back to school for the last three days of term before the Christmas holidays.

''In school they make fun of me but also they ask me to show them some of the moves,'' he said. ''I'm not looking forward to the holidays, I've got a lot of homework to catch up.'' He said he would eventually compete in the contact form of wushu.

''Sure, when I'm about 21. When I'm the best, I'll start fighting. I have to pass every stage and get better. I've learned here that you can't get everything by luck.'' Lebanon wushu federation president Georges Nseir said developing Nikoghossian was a long-term project.

''Financially it's not easy but despite our situation, we wanted to be here to show that we're still alive and still doing sport and still have plans for the future,'' he said.

Unusual in many respects for an 11-year-old, in others Nikoghossian is typical of boys of that age before adolescence takes hold.

''I'm luckier than I ever imagined,'' he said. ''None of this would be possible if I didn't have my father. He's the best.'' REUTERS SAM BST1854