When Taiwan’s budding taekwondo star Lin Wan-ting made her international debut at the East Asian Games in October last year, her sights were already set on winning a gold medal at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
Yesterday, she fell just short of that ambition, claiming a silver medal in the women’s 46kg class after losing 10-4 in the final to world No. 1 Kim So-hui of South Korea.
The 18-year-old, who shocked Kim in the round-of-16 at the Asian Championships in May, beating her 8-7, kept pace with her South Korean rival through two scoreless rounds and through much of the final round, when the two traded penalty points and kicks.
Photo: AFP
However, an aggressive attacking move by Kim with about 30 seconds left put Lin on the defensive and resulted in a three-point kick to the Taiwanese’s head to put the South Korean up 6-3.
Kim then clinched the win in the final seconds with a four-point reverse kick to Lin’s face that was granted after a challenge by Kim’s coach.
Lin, who finished third at the Asian Championships, did well to get to the final.
Photo: Reuters
She beat Asian champion Panipak Wongpattanakit of Thailand in the semi-finals, 5-4, after building a 5-1 lead and then holding off the hard-charging Thai in the final 30 seconds, conceding just three points.
Meanwhile, in softball, Taiwan’s women’s team lost their semi-final against Japan 6-1, setting up a bronze-medal match against the Philippines, who lost their semi-final 3-0 to China.
In the basketball, Taiwan’s women also lost to China, going down 75-63 to set up a bronze-medal clash with Japan, who were edged 58-53 by South Korea.
Photo: AFP
In the canoe kayak obstacle slalom quarter-finals, Taiwan’s Chang Yun-chuan defeated South Korea’s Oh Yea-chan in the canoe single men’s class to make the semi-finals, while fellow Taiwanese Chang Chu-han defeated Singapore’s Annabella Ng to progress to the semis of the kayak single women’s class.
Taiwan’s rugby team finally got a victory yesterday when they defeated Lebanon 54-5 in their final group game, before crashing to a 57-0 defeat to Japan in the quarters.
Additional reporting by Dave Carroll
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