Taiwan’s Wei Chen-yang won gold in taekwondo at the Asian Games yesterday, the nation’s second in the sport and sixth overall.
Wei edged out Thailand’s Pen-Ek Karaket in the final of men’s under-58kg division to clinch gold.
The two athletes were tied 2-2 after the regulation three rounds and when neither scored a point in the extra round, Wei was given the decision on superiority.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Wei had a relatively easy road to the finals. He defeated Cambodia’s Bouthorn Chhoy 14-1 in the opening round, Uzbekistan’s Rustamjon Pulatov 7-1 in the quarter-finals and Paul Romero of the Philippines in the semi-finals, when Romero withdrew with 17 seconds left in the final round after Wei had built a 5-0 lead.
It was Taiwan’s second gold medal in taekwondo after Huang Hsien-yung won gold in the women’s under-46kg division on Wednesday.
Hsu Chia-lin also picked up a bronze for Taiwan in the men’s under-54kg division.
PHOTO: SAM YEH, AFP
Taiwan’s golfers also earned three bronze medals yesterday, finishing third in the men’s and women’s team events and in the men’s individual tournament.
Taiwan’s Hung Chien-yao shot a three-under 69 in the final round of the men’s individual tournament to finish at five-under, two shots ahead of golfers from Thailand, India and the Philippines, who had all started the day with or ahead of him on the leaderboard.
South Korea’s Kim Meen-whee crushed the field with a 15-under 273 to take gold. The silver went to Miguel Luis Tabuena of the Philippines, who finished a stroke ahead of Hung after he parred the 18th hole and Hung bogeyed it.
South Korea swept all four gold medals in the golf, winning the men’s and women’s team events and the men’s and women’s individual tournaments.
Taiwan also won a medal in badminton, the nation’s first in the sport since it returned to the Asian Games in 1990.
Taiwan’s Cheng Wen-hsing and Chen Hung-ling earned a bronze medal in the mixed doubles after losing to Chinese pair Zhao Yunlei and Zhang Nan 21-16, 21-15.
It was a bad day for Taiwan’s tennis players, though.
China’s Peng Shuai reached the last four of the women’s singles by defeating Taiwan’s Chang Kai-chen in a clash plagued by 89 unforced errors, which the Chinese star blamed on bright sunshine.
Peng, seeking to add singles gold to the women’s team title she captured with Li Na, won 6-2, 7-6 (7/1) and will tackle top seed Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan for a place in the gold medal match.
Date Krumm saw off battling South Korean Lee Jin-a 7-6 (7/2), 7-5.
Big-hitting Uzbek Akgul Amanmuradova needed three sets to beat Japan’s Ayumi Morita 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 and will next face India’s Sania Mirza, who comfortably defeated Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-2, 6-3.
In the men’s third round, top seed Uzbek Denis Istomin breezed past Jeong Suk-young of South Korea 6-3, 6-4, while Thailand’s defending champion Danai Udomchoke edged Taiwan’s Yang Tsung-hua 7-5, 7-5.
Second seed Somdev Devverman defeated Uzbekistan’s Vaja Uzakov 6-1, 6-1 and next meets China’s Zhang Ze, who beat South Korea’s Cho Soong-jae 6-4, 6-4.
Karan Rastogi was a 6-0, 6-4 winner over Taiwan’s Chen Ti and faces Istomin in the quarter-finals.
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