A split-decision in taekwondo added to Taiwan's gold medal tally yesterday at the 14th Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.
With the closing ceremony of the 14th Asian Games tonight and only a few events left, Wang I-hsien's (王怡嫻) gold medal will likely be the country's last.
There were another two silver medals in taekwondo from Tseng Pei-hua (曾佩華) in the women's under-59kg category and a judges decision against Sung Yu-chi in the men's under-67kg class, with further bronze medals in rugby, wushu and karate.
At the end of 13 days of competition, Taiwan has 10 golds, 17 silvers and 25 bronzes. The total of 52 medals puts the country eighth in the standings, ahead of North Korea and one behind India.
Wang I-hsien was given the judges' call when her taekwondo fight against Youn Hyun-jung ended 4-4 after three rounds in the heavyweight over-72kg category.
A last-minute kick had got the South Korean level in the dying seconds of the fight and the referee went over to the officials for a decision.
There would have been pandemonium from embittered Taiwan fans at Gudeok Stadium if the 21-year-old Wang had been the loser after criticism of the judging for bias toward the host nation, but sanity prevailed.
The Tainan County native had been ahead throughout the match and her opponent did not seem to be able to make much of an impression despite being cheered on by the home crowd.
"I was very nervous today and in the final I just told myself to relax, that it doesn't matter what happens, just don't think about the score," Wang said.
It was her first big win after taking three silver medals at the Asian championships, last year's World Cup and the US Open.
Wang said she would now focus on next year's world championship and the Olympic Games in two years' time in Athens.
"This is her big victory," coach Ho Wei-hsing (侯緯星) said. "She's now gone the extra distance and [the future looks bright]."
Earlier, Taipei County compatriot Sung Yu-chi (宋玉麒) was judged the loser after taking South Korean Nan Yeon-sik to the limit, with the bout ending 4-4. There was no disputing the officials' decision to make Nan the winner, however, as he had clearly been the more active fighter.
Tseng Pei-hua, from Taipei City, was unable to upset favorite Yun Sung-hee of South Korea in her final, falling 4-1, despite good results in earlier rounds of the competition.
In Ulsan, meanwhile, Taiwan completely dominated Sri Lanka in the third-place playoff 15-man rugby match, adding to the silver medal it won in the rugby 7s event.
Taiwan scored five tries in the first half and another five in the second against two tries from the Sri Lankans, to run out winners 56-18 and bring the bronze medal home.
There were two more bronze medals in the wushu event, as Lee Hou-cheng (李後政) took the men's sanshou under-52kg category and Yeh Chun-chang(葉俊昌) came third in the men's sanshou 56kg.
Hsu Hsiang-ming (徐祥銘) earned a bronze medal in the men's karate 70kg category.
The final events today at the Games are the marathon, the men's and women's basketball finals, badminton and individual show jumping.
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