Olympic double gold medalist Hsu Shu-ching (許淑淨) yesterday announced she is retiring from weightlifting and would not compete in the Asian Games in August.
In a Facebook post, the 27-year-old cited long-standing knee problems and injuries sustained during last year’s World Weightlifting Championships as the reasons for her decision, which also meant she was reluctantly giving up her dreams of competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but would turn her attention to coaching a new generation of athletes.
“I am still recovering from serious injuries sustained last year and cannot undergo training in full. After discussing the matter with my coach, my doctor, the Chinese Taipei Weightlifting Association and leaders in various organizations, I have decided to withdraw from training for the Asian Games in Jakarta and end my career as an athlete,” she said.
Photo: CNA
“Because of the government’s financial support, I will stay in the National Sports Training Center and assist Coach Tsai Wen-yee (蔡溫義) and other coaches in training young weightlifters. I will learn to be a good coach to help train more top athletes for the nation,” she said.
Hsu thanked her coach, the association, her sponsors and other parties for supporting her training so that she could do so well not only in the Olympics, but the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
Government policy and support from others for weightlifting are crucial for athletes like her, Hsu said.
Hsu won a gold in the 53kg category at the 2012 London Games and the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Games, the first Taiwanese athlete to win two Olympic golds. She was scheduled to compete in the same category in Jakarta.
She said she hoped the public would continue to support her and cheer for the nation’s weightlifters in Jakarta.
Tsai, who won a bronze in the 60kg class in weightlifting at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, told the Central News Agency that Hsu’s retirement comes two years earlier than they had planned.
He and Hsu had originally planned that she would compete in the Tokyo Games, but he would respect her decision even though it was against his wishes, Tsai said.
Hsu tore two ligaments in her right arm during the world championships and underwent surgery after she returned to Taiwan.
Told rehabilitation would take a year, her recovery has not gone as she had expected, Hsu has said previously.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS