Chen I-chun (陳怡君) yesterday clinched Taiwan’s first Deaflympics gold of these Games by defeating Greece’s Vasiliki Zapanti-Fragkou 8-0 in the women’s taekwondo under-49kg category just three seconds into round two of the final.
Chen’s swift upper kicks grabbed two points 25 seconds into the first round, quickly followed by another two after 1 minute, 4 seconds. Chen eventually finished the round with a 6-0 lead.
Using the same aggressive offensive strategy in round two — focusing her kicks on the upper torso — the 22-year-old soon secured the medal, ending the match early.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Chen’s major confidence booster came after beating South Korea’s Bae Yi-seul, her most feared foe, 1-0 in the preliminary round, said her coach Chou Kuei-ming (周桂名), who added that Chen’s 1.68m height and her flexibility are her biggest advantages.
Only four women competed in the event.
The college sophomore, who was born almost two-months premature and deaf, dropped out of taekwondo during her high school years to try track and field, but her less-than-ideal performance as a runner prompted her to return to the sport.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
After three years of intense training since returning to the sport, Chen won a bronze in last year’s World Deaf Martial Arts Championships in France.
“I was actually really tired after the first match, but the enthusiasm of the crowd motivated me to keep going,” Chen said.
Chen’s win also means she receives NT$1.8 million (US$55,000) in cash, which her mother said would be used to pay for the overseas education her daughter has been dreaming of for a long time.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Chen’s teammate, 20-year-old Tseng Wei (曾偉), however, did not have such a good day in the men’s under-58kg category after he lost 0-7 to his Uzbek rival Davron Khidrov in the preliminary round.
The taekwondo team hopes to grab another gold when Lin Bo-cong (林柏聰), the champion from the 2008 Invitational Games for the Deaf in Taipei, competes this afternoon in the under-68kg category against Hong Kong’s Chow Chun Kin.
The men’s table tennis team also performed well yesterday, enjoying two victories, against Croatia 3-0 and Russia 3-1.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Other good news for the hosts included the men’s group badminton team, who bagged a breezy 5-0 win against Hong Kong in the morning, but the day turned sour in the afternoon when they lost 2-3 to last year’s champions, South Korea.
Taiwan will face off against Britain tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese 10m air rifle marksman Huang Cheng-hao (黃正豪) performed better than expected, but managed only seventh place as Switzerland’s Thomas Mosching grabbed the gold medal, the first of the Games.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Huang’s coach, however, was not discouraged and praised the shooter for making steady progress under pressure, adding that Huang’s performance yesterday was unprecedented.
In other sports, Taiwan’s women’s basketball team were thumped by the reigning champions the US 14-96. Poor coordination among the players was the major reason behind the low score, coach Teng Bi-chen (鄧碧珍) said, saying that losing to the US was expected and promising that the team would regroup for the match against China tomorrow.
In men’s 1,000m sprint cycling, Paul Wood took home the US’ first gold, leaving teammate and two-time Deaflympics champion Trevor Kosa back in fifth place.
Confusion ensued at the volleyball court when the organizing committee failed to inform people of a change of start time for the Taiwan-Russia game, leaving the media and spectators high and dry.
Several fans also complained about the lack of sign language interpreters on site.
The game has been postponed to Thursday. Organizers advised spectators to check the official Web site for the latest schedule.
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