Taekwondo athlete Yang Shu-chun (楊淑君), who was disqualified during a match at the Asian Games in Guangzhou last month, was banned from competition for three months in a ruling released yesterday by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF).
Yang’s coach Liu Tsung-ta (劉聰達) was suspended for one year and eight months, the federation said, while the Chinese Taipei Taewondo Association was fined US$50,000 because Yang and Liu protested the decision ringside at the Asiad on Nov. 17.
A tearful Yang said she felt her coach and the association were being punished because of her.
“The coach gave us athletes so much and yet was penalized,” Yang said in Taipei last night.
However, a three-month suspension is basically a slap on the wrist because there are no major international taekwondo events scheduled for the next three months.
Yang was disqualified for violating the rules by wearing extra electronic sensors in her socks to score more points. She was leading her opponent 9-0 when she was disqualified, and a dumbfounded Yang refused to leave the competitive arena for an extended period of time despite requests from officials to do so.
Video replays of the match showed Yang had removed the two sensors before the bout began. Inconsistent explanations from taekwondo officials about Yang’s disqualification had raised questions about the legitimacy of the dismissal.
Yang, Liu, her other coach Liu Ching-wen (劉慶文) and Chinese Taipei Taekwondo Association president Chen Chien-ping (陳建平) flew to South Korea on Friday to attend the WTF’s disciplinary committee hearing on Saturday.
The committee, made up of Egyptian, Israeli and Turkish officials, reviewed the decision to disqualify Yang and her protest.
Sports Affairs Council Minister Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡) said last night the council would discuss the matter with its lawyers to determine whether it would be possible to handle Yang’s case and that of her coach separately.
The committee had previously lodged a protest with the Olympic Council of Asia over Yang’s case and filed an appeal with the international Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHELLEY SHAN
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS