Taiwanese taekwondo fighter Hsu Chia-lin beat his challenger from South Korea yesterday to win a gold medal, marking the first gold Taiwan has won at the 2009 East Asian Games, which officially kicked off in Hong Kong on Saturday.
Hsu spent the entire match getting the measure of Cho Seong-in in the 54kg category of the men’s event before scoring his medal-winning point with a crucial mid-section attack in a sudden death round of the match.
Taiwanese silver medal winners included Chan Yi-chieh in the male 58kg category, Lee Hsing-hua in the female 47kg, and Chen Ying-chiu in the female 51kg.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Taiwanese tennis players Chiang Peng-lung and Wu Chih-chi beat their Japanese rivals 11-7 to qualify for the men’s doubles final. They will meet a Chinese pair today for the championship.
Before the formal opening ceremony for the international sports event on Saturday afternoon, Taiwan had already taken one silver medal and one bronze in the cue sports.
Also yesterday, Peng Yeng-ming and Chi Hsin-chi won silver in the Dancesport Latin American Dance Five-Dance Event and Chao Chun-lun and Kao Chia-lin won bronze in the Dancesport Standard — Quickstep.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping