Tang Chia-hung’s (唐嘉鴻) efforts on the horizontal bar added to Taiwan’s surge in artistic gymnastics as they moved to second in the medal tally in that discipline at the Summer Universiade in Naples, Italy, on Sunday.
Tang battled a foot injury to grab gold in the men’s event, edging Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan and Ivan Stretovich of Russia.
“It is a swingful and fluid routine, and suddenly we are seeing gymnasts really deliver,” commentators said as Tang dismounted to await the judges.
The judges gave him a score of 14.700, prompting celebrations with teammates and coaches as he went past Karimi (14.675) and Stretovich (14.600).
“I would like to thank National Taiwan Normal University for giving me such a good environment, so I have peace of mind while training,” Tang wrote on Facebook yesterday.
“All the fans of the team, your support is an indispensable driving force for our progress, thank you all,” he wrote.
It was Taiwan’s second gold medal in gymnastics in Italy after Lee Chih-kai (李智凱) won gold earlier on Sunday in the men’s pommel horse.
Lee also took bronze in the men’s all-round event on Saturday, while their silver came in the men’s team event, with Tang, Lee and Hsu Ping-chien’s (徐秉謙) efforts on Thursday last week.
The overall medal count on Sunday had Taiwan with four gold, five silver and three bronze. That put them seventh overall and second for artistic gymnastics with two gold, one silver and one bronze. Japan were the only nation ahead of Taiwan in artistic gymnastics with seven gold, two silver and three bronze.
It is the best showing Taiwan has had in artistic gymnastics at a Universiade since the 2005 Games in Izmir, Turkey.
Taiwanese taekwondo athlete Su Chia-en (蘇佳恩) grabbed silver in the women’s individual poomsae — the nation’s first medal in the sport this year — with a total score of 6.99.
The college senior told the Central News Agency by telephone that she was nervous performing her routine, as it has been a long time since her previous individual competition.
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
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS