By Jason Pan
Staff reporter
Taiwan is seen as a rising powerhouse in badminton, led by stars Chou Tien-chen and Tai Tzu-ying, and the nation is poised to challenge Southeast Asian nations like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, who are regional powerhouses.
Photo: AP
Chou, Taiwan’s top male badminton professional, got off to a winning start when he defeated Misha Zilberman of Israel in two straight games in their men’s singles match at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro yesterday.
Chou was in control most of the way with his quick rhythm, winning 21-9, 21-11.
Chou was to take on Tan Yuhan of Belgium today.
He did not make the cut for the London Olympics four years ago, but has improved and gained good results to push his world ranking to No. 7.
“At the start, I got really excited and was little nervous,” Chou said of his Olympic debut.
“My body was a bit tight and I did not make the most of my chances, but I adjusted to the conditions and promptly got into my game rest of the way,” he said at a post-game interview.
“The lighting at the venue was too bright for me, but it is the same for everyone, so we had to accept it,” he said.
“We just have to adjust and turn it to our advantage. That is what a good player can do with their capability,” he said.
Chou, 26, along with 22-year-old Tai, who is ranked No. 8 in the world among female players, are considered good medal contenders.
Tai defeated Elisabeth Baldauf of Austria 21-11, 21-9 in her women’s singles qualifying match on Thursday to put her on track for a medal.
However, the men’s doubles team of Lee Sheng-mu and Tsai Chia-hsin lost to South Korean pair Yoo Yeon-seong and Lee Yong-dae.
Lee and Tsai grabbed the first set 21-18, but their more experienced opponents rallied, taking the next two games 21-13 and 21-18.
It was the second loss for the Taiwan duo, having been beaten by Russians Ivan Sozonov and Vladimir Ivanov in their first outing.
They played Australia’s Matthew Chau and Sawan Serasinghe yesterday, winning 21-14, 21-19 in a match with only pride at stake between the two winless teams.
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