Taiwan yesterday claimed gold in the Taipei Summer Universiade men’s 100m sprint, while archers picked up three silvers and there was a bronze in taekwondo.
Yang Chun-han (楊俊瀚) won the gold medal in the 100m final at the Taipei Municipal Stadium with a time of 10.22 seconds, coming off a national record in the semi-finals of 10.20 seconds that marked him as a favorite in the decider at 8:40pm.
Thando Roto of South Africa took silver 0.02 seconds behind, while Cameron Burrell of the US claimed bronze in 10.27 seconds.
Photo: CNA
Yang set the previous mark for Taiwan’s best time over the distance in May.
It was the final day of archery at the Universiade, and Taiwanese were on target, advancing into the medals rounds, but were second best when facing archrivals South Korea.
Tan Ya-ting (譚雅婷), Taiwan’s top female archer, faltered in a showdown against Kang Chae-young in the gold-medal match in women’s recurve individual.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
Kang won 7-4 at the National Taiwan Sport University Stadium in Taoyuan.
In the team finals, there was a recurring theme of South Korean dominance over Taiwan.
In the men’s recurve team final, Taiwan’s Wei Chun-heng (魏均珩), Deng Yu-cheng (鄧宇成) and Peng Shih-chen (彭士誠) shot 56, 54, and 55 respectively in three sets for a total of 165, but South Korea scored 58, 59 and 58 for a 175 total, winning 6-0.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
In the third-place match, Russia took bronze after a 5-1 win over Kazakhstan.
In the women’s recurve team final, Russia defeated Italy 6-0 for bronze, while Taiwan’s Tan, Lei Chien-ying (雷千瑩) and Peng Chia-mao (彭家楙) faced South Korea in the gold-medal match.
Local fans witnessed a thrilling showdown, as the match was tied after three sets and went to 4-4 in the fourth.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
A shoot-off was required, in which Taiwan scored nine, 10 and nine points.
However, South Korea were even better, scoring three 10s to capture gold.
Lei missed out on bronze when Alejandra Valencia of Mexico beat her 6-0 in the women’s recurve individual third-place match.
It was South Korea again in the men’s recurve individual final, with Lee Seung-yun taking home the gold with a 6-0 win over Arsalan Baldanov of Russia.
In the mixed recurve team final, South Korea prevailed over France 5-4.
Head coach Ni Ta-chih (倪大智) praised Taiwan’s archers, saying: “Even though we did not win golds, they have shown their capability and determination to fight to the finish.”
“I give my team a score of 100 for their performance today,” Ni said.
“We feel our team is as good as South Korea,” Tan said. “We have regrets about not seizing our chance to win gold today; we still have room for improvement.”
“This was our first international archery competition at home and although we were a bit nervous, we gave it our best,” Peng Chia-mao said. “During the matches, the three of us [in the women’s recurve team] consulted each other to make adjustments. I think we can be satisfied with the results.”
Yang Tsung-yeh (楊宗燁) added to the nation’s medal tally with taekwondo bronze in the 74kg category.
Yang defeated Alejandro Cuero of Colombia 38-13 first up to get into the round of 16, where he overcame John Asp of Norway 14-10.
In the final eight, Yang scored two points in an extra round against Toni Kanaet of Croatia to advance into the semi-finals.
However, Yang could not get past Scott Ishida of the US, who defeated him 12-6.
“Most of the opponents today were taller than me, so I could not stay back and defend,” Yang said. “I had to take the initiative and attack with different kicks to score points.”
“The audience was cheering really loud for me, so that pushed me to fight on and get a good result,” he said.
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
DEROGATORY: WTO host Cameroon’s designation of Taiwan as a ‘province of China’ seriously undermines the nation’s status and rights as a WTO member, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned Cameroon for listing Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” in visa documents for an upcoming WTO ministerial conference, a move that led to Taiwan’s withdrawal from the event. The designation “seriously undermined” Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member, the ministry said in a statement. It is the first time since 2001 that Taiwan has declined to attend a WTO Ministerial Conference. The conference is scheduled to take place from Thursday to Sunday next week in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. Taiwan had planned to send a delegation led by Minister Without Portfolio