Taiwanese taekwondo athlete Yang Shu-chun (楊淑君) was disqualified from the Asian Games yesterday over allegations that she used extra sensors in her socks, a move that sparked claims of a conspiracy and a flood of support from indignant Taiwanese fans and lawmakers.
Yang was disqualified in the first round of her under-49kg bout against Vietnamese opponent Vu Thi Hau, while holding a 9-0 lead.
Officials stopped the bout because they believed Yang’s electronic socks, used to register successful kicks, did not meet requirements, even though they had been approved in a pre-bout inspection.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan’s delegation immediately filed a formal protest, but the Asian Games arbitration committee rejected it and upheld the judge’s ruling.
The disqualification, which World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) secretary-general Yang Jin-suk said was confirmed by a five-member WTF technical committee, left Yang and her coach — who staged a sit-down protest — in tears.
“This was an extremely unfair decision. I don’t know what was wrong. All of my electronic protective equipment followed official specifications,” Yang Shu-chun said.
“I brought two pairs of WTF-certified socks with me. The Chinese examiner asked me to scrap the first pair, but the second pair passed the examination,” she said.
“Before the start of [yesterday’s] bout, the chief judge carefully examined all the equipment on my body and did not raise any questions,” she said.
Liu Yung-lung (劉永隆), one of Taiwan’s coaches, said the decision was arbitrary and unreasonable because the socks were from a WTF-certified brand and had passed Asian Games inspections.
“Even though the model was different, the judge did not find fault with it before the bout. If the judge had brought up the problem at the start, Yang Shu-chun could have changed her socks. This was negligence on the part of the organizers,” Liu said.
“Individual athletes should not have to pay for the authorities’ problems,” he said.
Yang Jin-suk said Yang Shu-chun and Taiwanese coaches are expected to face sanctions for their protest.
Asked why Yang Shu-chun had been disqualified after passing the pre-match inspection, Yang Jin-suk said he “couldn’t explain in detail because it involved personal privacy.”
For Yang Shu-chun, it was a cruel blow. The 2008 Olympic bronze medal winner had hoped to fight the Chinese athlete who beat her in Beijing — Wu Jingyu (吳靜鈺).
“Why wouldn’t they let me compete? I was well prepared to defeat my Chinese rival,” Yang Shu-chun said.
Yang Jin-suk said extra sensors could help the wearer score points more easily under a new electronic scoring system that detects kicks.
“When somebody tries to take advantage by manipulating equipment to gain more points, it’s unfair,” he said.
Saying that all the electronic gear used by Taiwanese athletes at the Asian Games was purchased from the WTF in accordance with its regulations, president of the Chinese Taipei Taekwondo Association, Chen Chien-ping (陳建平) said: “It is hard for us to accept this arbitrary decision.”
Chen said the rest of Taiwan’s taekwondo team would stay in the competition, adding: “Our athletes will turn their anger and sadness into energy and strength to win honors in the event.”
In Taipei, the Executive Yuan and lawmakers across party lines voiced support for Yang Shu-chun.
The Sports Affairs Council (SAC) said in a press release last night that the government has demanded the Asian Taekwondo Union launch an investigation into the case.
Executive Yuan Spokesman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) quoted Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) as saying that Taiwan was not satisfied.
“From the current information we have, our athlete Yang Shu-chun was wronged,” Chiang quoted Wu as saying. “If it is proven that the ruling was unfair, the Asian Game Organizing Committee has to shoulder the biggest responsibility.”
“The decision was inconceivable and ridiculous,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Huang Chih-hsiung (黃志雄), a taekwondo silver medalist at the 2004 Olympics, said at a press conference in Taipei.
He said the decision was unfair because the equipment had passed pre-match inspection and Yang Shu-chun was allowed to compete.
Huang said wearing unsanctioned gear should have resulted in a warning or points deduction, but Yang was handed a 12-0 loss.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) deputy caucus whip Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) urged SAC Chairwoman Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡), who is currently in Guangzhou, to do her best to protect the integrity of Taiwanese athletes.
The SAC should do everything it can to overturn the decision “even if it means we have to boycott the Games,” she said.
After the disqualification, Taiwanese television anchorwoman Chen Yi-an (陳怡安) angrily called the ruling the most awkward moment in the history of taekwondo.
She said she suspected a plot, as Yang Shu-chun was likely to meet a Chinese competitor in the final.
Lee Chia-jung (李佳融), head taekwondo coach at National Taiwan Normal University, said the Asian Games inspection team and the referee had done a poor job and that they couldn’t place responsibility on Yang and the Taiwanese team.
Saying that the electronic socks met WTF specifications, Lee added that the decision was unacceptable and the incident could have been handled by deducting a point from Yang Shu-chun’s score. The decision to disqualify her was over the top, Lee said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG, SHELLEY SHAN AND STAFF WRITER
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
RSS