Taiwan yesterday won two silver and one bronze at the Asian Games in Indonesia, while the nation’s hopes in table tennis were dashed when two strong Taiwanese teams in mixed doubles lost their quarter-final matches.
Many Taiwanese fans had high expectations for sprinter Yang Chun-han, whose victory in the men’s 100m was a nationally celebrated highlight of last year’s Taipei Summer Universiade.
However, Yang yesterday ran the men’s 200m final in 20.23 seconds, but was edged out by 0.001 seconds by Japan’s Yuki Koike in a photo finish.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Yang reached across the finish line and fell down, then wept in disappointment after the result was announced.
Earlier, despite being a favorite for a medal in the men’s 100m, Yang finished fifth in the final.
In soft tennis, Taiwan’s Cheng Chu-ling snagged silver in the women’s singles after losing to Japan’s Noa Takahashi 3-4 in the final.
Cheng took an early 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven-sets match, but lost the following two sets.
She then tied Takahashi 3-3 in a hard-fought battle, but was eventually defeated in the final set.
It was Cheng’s third time competing at the Asian Games. In Incheon, South Korea, in 2014 she won two bronze medals in the soft tennis women’s doubles and women’s team events.
In judo, Yang Yung-wei yesterday defeated North Korea’s An Jae-yong in extra time to win Taiwan’s first Asian Games medal in the discipline in eight years.
It was a tough fight for the men’s 60kg bronze medal, with no points awarded at the end of the regulation five minutes.
In sudden death, An received three shido penalties — which were given for prolonged periods of nonaggression — while Yang Yung-wei only received one, handing him the victory.
“It was great to win the bronze medal today, but I wanted more. I am only 20 years old and I can win gold in future competitions,” Yang Yung-wei said. “By taking part in the Asian Games, I have learned a lot and also picked up valuable experience.”
It was disappointing when Yang Yung-wei lost to Uzbekistan’s Diyaorbek Urozboev, a bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, in the quarter-finals, but he redoubled his efforts to defeat Mongalia’s Amartuvshin Dashdavaa to advance to the semi-finals, where he finished third alongside South Korea’s Lee Ha-rim.
In table tennis, fans’ high hopes for a podium finish were dashed when the mixed doubles pairs of Chuang Chih-yuan and Chen Szu-yu and Chen Chien-an and Cheng I-ching, who all regularly compete in the international circuit, lost in the quarter-finals.
In women’s soccer late on Tuesday, Taiwan lost 1-0 after a relentless attack from China culminated in a second-half goal by striker Wang Shanshan.
China dominated the match, with 72 percent possession compared with Taiwan’s 28 percent.
That superiority translated into an offensive advantage, with China making 41 attempts, 12 of which were on target, compared with only one attempt by Taiwan.
Taiwan ’keeper Tsai Ming-jung made numerous outstanding saves.
The national women’s team are to take on South Korea in the bronze-medal match tomorrow.
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