Taiwanese athletes who won medals at the Asian Games and their coaches are to receive total prize money of more than NT$350 million (US$11.39 million) from a national scholarship program.
Taiwan’s delegation to this year’s Asian Games won a total of 17 gold, 19 silver and 31 bronze medals, ranking seventh among the 37 nations or regions competing in the Games.
It was the second-best performance in the nation’s sports history, following 19 golds won at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.
Photo: AFP
The Guo Guang Athletic Medals and Scholarships (國光體育獎章及獎助學金頒發辦法) awards program was established by the government to reward athletes based on their performance at major international games, such as the Olympic Games, Asian Games, World Games, Universiade Games and other official events.
Athletes who win gold at the Asian Games are given NT$3 million and those who win silver are paid NT$1.5 million, while those who win bronze are given NT$900,000, according to the program’s rules.
The prize money is raised by 50 percent for athletes winning medals in track and field, swimming and gymnastics.
Photo: Screen grab from Yeh Jiunn-rong’s Facebook page
The boating team would this year receive the largest prize money, as the traditional boat race team won two golds and one silver, and the women’s canoe slalom team won one silver and one bronze. The team members are to receive a total of NT$122.4 million.
The softball team is to receive NT$25.5 million for winning silver and the baseball team is to receive NT$21.60 million for winning bronze.
The men’s volleyball team, which clinched a bronze medal after a 20-year drought, is to receive NT$12.6 million.
The women’s kabaddi team, which also won bronze, is to receive NT$10.8 million.
Extraordinary performances by individual athletes would also be rewarded, including those in archery, contract bridge, badminton, bowling, shooting and gymnastics.
The athletes — 142 men and 88 women — are to receive NT$358.8 million in total, while the coaches are to receive NT$18.9 million.
Meanwhile, a government official yesterday confirmed that the air force will dispatch two F-16s to escort the airplane carrying the athletes to welcome them home when it enters the nation’s air defense identification zone tonight.
The air force normally dispatches fighters when the president leaves or returns to the nation.
The government would consider whether it is safe to discharge celebratory flares at nighttime before deciding if it would allow it, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Additional reporting by Lo Tien-pin
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