Taiwan shone in badminton yesterday, as Tai Tzu-ying captured the gold in women’s singles and Chou Tien-chen came away with silver after losing in the men’s singles final in the Jakarta Asian Games.
Tai’s finish pushed Taiwan’s gold medal count to 13, while Chou and 110m hurdler Chen Kuei-ru boosted the silver count to 14.
It was a worthy gold-medal match between world No. 1 Tai and world No. 2 P.V. Sindhu of India.
Photo: Reuters
Tai easily grabbed the first set 21-13, but Sindhu fought back in a see-saw battle for the second set, before Tai prevailed down the stretch 21-16.
With her victory, Tai gave Taiwan their first badminton gold in the Asian Games.
“I pushed myself to have a good game and to reduce unforced errors,” Tai said. “There are many top players taking part in the Games, and everyone had a strong desire to win, so it was not easy to get into the final.”
Photo: EPA
“It’s good to celebrate this result, and I hope people become more interested in badminton. We have seen more kids in Taiwan picking up the sport, and maybe our medals can help provide them with more resources,” she added.
In the men’s singles final, Chou battled in a long three-set fight against Jonatan Christie of Indonesia.
Christie eventually prevailed to seize the gold after beating Chou 21-18, 20-22, 21-15 in 1 hour, 13 minutes.
Chou said he had already achieved his personal Games best after downing Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting in their semi-final on Monday.
“It was an emotional win getting past Ginting in the semi-final, as it was my personal best in this tournament. Today, I gave my best, but was still defeated,” Chou said. “I can still be proud of this silver medal, because it is still a better result than I had expected.”
The silver medal was Taiwan’s best showing in the event.
Christie peeled off his shirt to celebrate his gold and twirled his pointer finger around for emphasis. He saluted when the Indonesian flag was raised above the podium.
“This win is historic for Indonesian badminton,” he said after winning the title for the badminton nation for the first time since 2006.
In the men’s 110m hurdles, Chen finished second in 13.39 seconds, beating the national record of 13.49 seconds he set earlier this year in Taiwan.
“Before the race, my body was in a heightened state and I felt that I could get a good result. I was moving around and had all this energy bursting out. My coach had to calm me down to get me ready for the race,” he said.
In men’s kurash, Chan Hao-cheng ended his run with a bronze medal, while the gold and silver went to Maruf Gaybulloev and Ruslan Buriev, both from Uzbekistan.
It was Taiwan’s first medal in kurash at the Asian Games.
Taiwan also took bronzes in women’s team compound archery and men’s team table tennis.
In their men’s baseball Group B preliminary match, Taiwan routed Indonesia 15-0.
Elsewhere, the Jiang twins from China created history by winning the duet in artistic swimming, returning to the Games after extended breaks to have children.
Both had baby girls and spent two years away from the sport before deciding in 2016 to make a comeback.
“This is a very significant medal because it means so much to us and our families,” Jiang Wenwen said. “I think our performance demonstrated that mothers can do anything in sport and this will be a very good example for our children.”
The 31-year-old siblings — gold medalists in 2006 and 2010, and the oldest artistic swimmers to compete at the Games — topped the technical and free routines to win with 186.5101 points.
In the men’s individual recurve archery final, Kim Woo-jin won 6-4 for his third Asian Games gold, but refused to celebrate his victory over compatriot Lee Woo-seok, who must complete his military service.
Kim secured his exemption eight years ago when he won two golds in the 2010 Games, but for Lee, already serving in the armed forces, the final was the last opportunity to win a gold and obtain an early discharge.
Kim said he performed without thinking about the implications of the outcome.
“It was just tough to beat someone who I know so well after months of training together,” he was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.
Lee, who won a team silver on Monday, rued his performance.
“I am disappointed with the result, but I have to accept these results because they’re all my own doing,” he said.
Additional reporting by AP and Reuters
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