The Doha Asian Games have confirmed the dominance of China in Asian athletic sports. The Chinese landed 316 medals, 165 of them gold -- just under three times the number of second-placed South Korea.
Taiwan's modest haul of nine gold medals, 10 silver and 27 bronze for a total of 46 medals was nonetheless a reasonably pleasing achievement. If any one element hurt Taiwan in gaining more medals, it was a lack of aggression and a tendency toward resignation at key moments where other athletes seemed to press on regardless of their standing.
There are no doubt several reasons for this, but it must be said again that competing for a nation whose flag, anthem and other symbols are banned in international sporting contests must be prominent among them.
We were again treated to the sight of a Taiwanese gold medalist enthusiastically saluting a flag forced upon this country by the International Olympic Committee and China. Some athletes may not care too much about the role of nationalism in sports as long as they achieve personal greatness, but if there are others in the Taiwanese athletes' village who do care, this act would generate mixed feelings. One thing is for certain: There is nothing inspiring about a flag that symbolizes denial of sovereignty.
Taiwan did well in the three tennis codes, cue sports, taekwondo, baseball and softball, as expected. But just as delightful as the gold medals were the efforts of less conspicuous athletes in less popular sports: bronzes in men's weightlifting, men's and women's shot put, and a silver medal for Jasmine Chen (
Unfortunately, a good proportion of Taiwanese performances were unavailable to viewers because of the erratic coverage of ESPN and Star Sports.
On too many occasions the Taiwanese feeds for these cable stations screened events recorded the night before that had nothing to do with Taiwan at the expense of live coverage of Taiwanese medal contenders.
Taiwan is not at the level of feverish sports devotion that would see these channels punished in the marketplace, but it is to be hoped that as time goes on this will change. Certainly, with this year's soccer World Cup, public pressure saw telecasts reduce the number and format of mid-game advertising.
Before the Asian Games started, National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Chairman Chen Chuan-shou (
It would be a good thing if Chen now followed through with his pledge and quit, not because 15 medals is a particularly meaningful target, but because lame political theatrics and the cultivation of sporting excellence do not make good partners.
Taiwan's athletes deserve more than lead-footed Cabinet officials with a penchant for the short term and dramatic flourishes. With less than two years until the Beijing Olympics and all of the nationalist grist for the mill that those Games will offer, the government would do well to take the affairs of its sportspeople a little more seriously.
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