Team Taiwan will raise its flag at a ceremony at the Olympic village today in a symbolic start to its 14-day campaign.
The team aims to win the nation's first-ever gold medal and capture a total of six medals to beat its previous best.
"Our athletes are more skilled and stand a better chance than ever before. We aim to take one gold medal, two silvers and three bronze," said Chen Chuan-show (
The team boasts 88 athletes competing in 14 events. Team Taiwan is expecting strong medal chances in six of those events, especially taekwondo, a defensive martial art in which Taiwan has traditionally performed strongly and has the strongest chance for gold. Table tennis and baseball are also seen as strong medal possibilities.
Taiwanese hopes are also high for the events of shooting, archery and weightlifting.
Baseball
There is a feeling of anticipation in the push for a baseball medal. In Barcelona in 1992, Team Taiwan's baseball squad won silver. Twelve years later, Taiwan beat South Korea at the Asian Championship to secure a berth in Athens. The whole country was energized by the achievement and sports fans looked to their idols to set another milestone.
The team fell short of expectations, however, during subsequent friendly games against Cuba, Italy, Canada and the Netherlands in Nettuno, near Rome.
A feisty Dutch performance against the Taiwanese resulted in a 5-0 loss that was especially disappointing to sports commentators and heartbreaking for loyal fans.
The team's ability to beat major opponents seemed to be in a drastic decline.
"The major foes Team Taiwan faces are Cuba and Japan. Yet current performances show that Canada and Australia are also standing in our way. Their performances have exceeded our expectations," said Kao Ying-chieh (
Kao, who is also a former pitcher of the national team and player in the Japanese Professional League, stressed that several athletes who had played in professional leagues in the US and Japan would play a key role in the Olympic campaign.
Chang Chih-jia (張誌家), who played in Japan, and Wang Jien-ming (王建民) and Tsao Chin-hui (曹錦輝), who pursued their careers in the US, are among them. If the three perform well, Taiwan is likely to make it to the top four. If Chen Chin-feng (陳金鋒) of the Los Angeles Dodgers recovers from his slump in time, Taiwan should enter the top three.
While the chances of victory against Japan are slim, Taiwan stands to fare better in a showdown with Cuba.
Shooting
Meanwhile, 23-year-old shooter Lin I-chun (
"Lin is a genius. She became an important factor in cultivating talent and is the pride of the nation," said Lin's coach, Tseng Chao-hsiung (曾兆雄).
"Yet her physical and psychological condition has been troubled for two years now. She has been carrying the heavy burden of public expectation on her shoulders for a long time. Our government even hired some counselors to help her to learn to live with the crushing pressure."
Lin will start competition next Wednesday.
Archery
In the archery competition, teenager Yuan Shu-chi (袁淑琪) is also an athlete of world standard. Young but not timid, Yuan won the championship at the Asian Games.
"The more people watch her, the better she performs. This is how she is. In her case, us coaches don't have to worry about stagefright. I believe that in a few years she will grow into one of the world's best archers. She could get to be No. 1 this time around," said Yuan's coach, Tang Chin-lan (
Weightlifting
Weightlifting, one of the oldest events at the Olympics, is not a phenomenally popular sport in Taiwan, but it has won more medals for the nation than any other sport.
Tsai Wen-yi (
This year, the most eye-catching weightlifter is 28-year-old Wang Shin-yuan (王信淵), who has 13 years of experience in competition. Ranked fourth in his class at the Sydney Olympics, Wang surged to second place after 2002. Another young athlete, Yang Chin-yi (楊景翊), is ranked third in the world. The two are expected to bring medals home.
"Wang's strongest challengers are Wu Mei-ching (
Both Wang and Yang are in the 56kg category. They compete on Saturday.
Taekwondo
The most anticipated event, taekwondo, will be held from Aug. 26 to Aug. 29.
Taiwan's two male contenders, Huang Chih-hsiung (黃志雄) and Chu Mu-yen (邱木炎), and two women contenders, Chi Shu-ju (紀淑如) and Chen Shih-hsin (陳詩欣), will compete on Aug. 26 and Aug. 27. Chu and Chen are hopefuls for a medal among the total of 124 competitors.
The 22-year-old Chu excels in the "cyclone style" of consecutive kicking, which has earned him the moniker of "Bruce Lee" from overseas competitors.
"Since last year, Chu has claimed four gold medals in international competition. If Chu stays calm -- as usual -- and doesn't underestimate his competitors, he will enrapture the country by winning the first-ever gold medal for Taiwan in the Olympics," Liu said.
"Taekwondo is the competition where most of our strength lies," said Liou Ching-wen (劉慶文), head coach of the taekwondo team. "We have trained several medalists and earned many trophies. Now we only have one medal missing from our Hall of Fame -- Olympic gold."
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