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Olympians hailed upon return

Taiwan’s Olympic bronze medalists taekwondo athlete Chu Mu-yen, left, weightlifters Chen Wei-ling, second left, and Lu Ying-chi, third left, and taekwondo athlete, Sung Yu-chi, appear at a welcome home ceremony held at the Sheraton Taipei Hotel yesterday. PHOTO: CNA

Former Olympic medalist Chi Cheng (紀政) yesterday said the overall performance of Taiwanese athletes at the Beijing Olympics have shown major improvements from the past.

“Although we won only four bronze medals this year, which was less than what we earned in 2004 ... in general, they [the athletes] are doing quite well,” said Chi, who won the bronze medal in the 80m low hurdles in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

Chi made the remarks yesterday at a ceremony hosted by the Sports Affairs Council (SAC) to greet the Taiwanese athletes upon their return.

Chi specifically referred to the performance of tennis player Lu Yen-hsun (盧彥勳) and badminton player Hsieh Yu-hsing (謝裕興).

Lu beat two high-ranked competitors before he entered the third round, whereas Hsieh made it into the men’s semi-final match. Both have set Taiwanese sports records.

Council Minister Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡) said the council will soon convene a meeting attended by representatives from sports associations and academia to jointly review the nation’s performance at the Olympic Games.

“The Asian Games is coming in 2010, and there is no time to lose,” Tai said, adding the council is in the process of drafting their “London plan,” which will target performances at the London Olympics in 2012.

The plan will help the council secure specific funding for the Olympics from the Executive Yuan, she said.

During yesterday’s ceremony, the four bronze medal winners — weightlifters Chen Wei-ling (陳葦綾) and Lu Ying-chi (盧映錡), as well as taekwondo athletes Chu Mu-yen (朱木炎) and Sung Yu-chi (宋玉麒) — received National Honor Medals from Premier Liu Chao-hsuan (劉兆玄).

Athletes competing in other categories, such softball and archery, were also recognized.

Taekwondo heroine Su Li-wen (蘇麗文) and the baseball team did not appear at the ceremony yesterday.

Su had a medical appointment after her meeting with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) earlier in the day.

The baseball team, on the other hand, asked for a leave of absence because the players were scheduled to compete in Chinese Professional Baseball League games yesterday morning.

At a separate setting yesterday, Minister of Education Cheng Jei-cheng (鄭瑞城) announced the ministry would seek to establish a joint task force with the SAC to discuss career planning for the nation’s athletes.

Cheng made the remark after National Taiwan Normal University and National Chung Cheng University both offered Su instructor spots upon Su’s return on Monday night.

“Some of the [Olympic] athletes received offers, but how about those who did not?” Cheng said, adding that the ministry and the council would discuss ways to improve the nation’s training system and retirement policies for athletes.

He proposed that the nation should concentrate its resources on training athletes in specific disciplines, such as weightlifting.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG

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