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
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
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS