Taiwan downed South Korea 3-1 in table tennis on the opening day of the Invitational Games for the Deaf, Taipei 2008, a warm-up event for next year’s Deaflympics.
Soccer results were somewhat one-sided, with Iran beating Malaysia 11-0 and Thailand topping Uzbekistan 9-0.
Soccer teams from Australia, Japan, Thailand, Iran, Malaysia and Uzbekistan are competing at the Dajia Riverside Park, while the table tennis event, featuring teams from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, is being held at the Taipei Arena.
The three other events in the invitational competition — karate, judo and taekwando — open today at other sports venues in the city.
The five-day games are serving as a trial run for the Summer Deaflympics Taipei 2009, the premier international competition for the hearing impaired, which will be held in Taipei from Sept. 5 to Sept. 15 next year.
The Deaflympics will be primarily staged at the sports complex under construction next to the Taipei Arena.
The 20,000-seat main stadium will not be completed until the end of the year, forcing this week’s soccer invitational to be held at Dajia Riverside Park.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin said on Friday he hoped that the invitational games would let people know that Taipei City is ready to host next year’s Deaflympics, and that the city government will provide the best accommodation for all athletes during their stay in the city.
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