All that glitters is not gold, Taiwan's athletes at the 14th Asian Games found yesterday in Busan, South Korea.
Taiwan's first medals were silver and bronze, but they were enough to give Taiwan a top-10 ranking after two days of competition.
PHOTO: AFP
Taiwan's rugby 7s team fought valiantly but could not overcome a South Korean side at the peak of its powers in the final, falling 33-21.
Meanwhile, women judoka Wang Chin-fang (
Meanwhile, Wang Shin-yuan (王信淵) claimed silver in the men's weightlifting 56kg class, just beating compatriot Yang Chin-yi (楊景翊) who took Taiwan's third bronze of the day.
Taiwan's sterling performances in rugby 7s against strong teams the previous day boded well going into the final round. Having whitewashed Hong Kong and China, Taiwan felt it could go all the way.
It's first task was to dispose of Thailand in the Pool B semifinal and it did so easily, brushing the Thais aside 19-0, with two tries in the first half from Wu Chih-wei (吳志威) and Pan Kuei-chih (潘溎志) and another touchdown from Wang Kuo-feng (王國峰) mid-way through the second half.
It should have been a confidence booster, but instead coach Wu Mao-sheng (
"We played very well in this competition and in the semifinal against Thailand we tried for an easy win, but then our players got a little nervous," Wu said.
Five minutes into the game and Taiwan was 5-0 down, as Korea's Park No-young broke through for the home team's first try and kicker Sung Hae-kyoung converted for two extra points and a 7-0 advantage.
Undaunted, Taiwan immediately fought back, with Chen Wen-yen (
Then, just before halftime, steady pressure from the Koreans paid off as Yong Hwang-myung managed to get over the line for a try after a scrum near the line. The conversion, however, bounced back off the bar and Korea led by five at the break.
Taiwan shocked the home fans when the second half started, however, when Wu Chih-hsien (
But Korea was not to be denied. It broke straight back from the kick, with Park Chang-min -- who proved to be a handful for Taiwan's defense -- collecting the ball and running through practically unopposed.
It was Park again who charged down a kick just after the restart, picking up the loose ball and sprinting in for his second try in as many minutes to give his team a 26-14 advantage.
It was too much for Taiwan's young tigers, who managed to get a try back when Chang Chin-fong (
"We didn't get as much rest as we would have liked and we weren't 100 percent," coach Wu said. He said the Korean team, most of whom are in their late 20s, was at its peak and would probably break up after the Games.
Taiwan, on the other hand, was a young team that would benefit from competing at this level and would "continue to grow and get better if it stays together," he said.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was
RSS