The World Taekwondo Federation said on Thursday that a dispute involving a Taiwanese taekwondo athlete has been resolved, easing concern that the nation’s taekwondo association could face further punishment.
Federation secretary-general Yang Jin-suk said the world body would continue to collaborate with the Chinese Taipei Taekwondo Association (CTTA) as the issue of Taiwanese athlete Yang Shu-chun’s (楊淑君) disqualification at the Asian Games has been resolved.
The South Korean made the remark to the Central News Agency on the sidelines of the federation’s executive committee conference in Seoul.
“The federation is willing to continue working with Taiwan to create a win-win situation for both sides,” the official said.
The federation suspended Yang Shu-chun for three months in December last year, while her coach Liu Tsung-ta (劉聰達), was suspended for 20 months and the CTTA was fined US$50,000 following the athlete’s disqualification at the Asian Games in November.
Federation officials said Yang, one of Taiwan’s gold medal hopefuls, had violated the competition rules by wearing extra electronic sensors on her socks during her opening bout to score more points, although video footage later showed she did not have the sensors on during the match.
After the decision, Yang protested by refusing to leave the ring. Later, contradictory statements by taekwondo officials explaining the disqualification sparked outrage in Taiwan.
Taiwan officially filed an appeal in December with the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport against the disqualification.
Yang is now in South Korea for the federation’s World Taekwondo Championships, while her coach is still suspended.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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