Taiwan’s men’s archery team yesterday bagged a silver medal after being beaten by South Korea in the gold medal match at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
South Korea’s three archers were unerringly precise in beating Taiwan 6-0, shooting perfect 10s with 13 of their 18 arrows.
Taiwan’s Tang Chih-chun (湯智鈞), Wei Chun-heng (魏均珩) and Deng Yu-cheng (鄧宇成) posted respectable scores, including six 10s from 18 arrows, but respectable was not enough in a final in which South Korea were at their dominant best.
Photo: AFP
It was the fifth gold medal for South Korea’s men in the team event at the past six Olympic Games.
The silver was the fourth medal Taiwan’s archers have won at an Olympic Games.
After matching Taiwan’s best finish ever in Athens in 2004, Wei remained humble, telling reporters that the team still had much to learn and improve on.
Tang admitted that he was so nervous before the gold medal match that he was shaking badly when he walked into the venue.
“Of course, I wish to have had a better result, [but] I’m quite satisfied,” Deng said.
Their coach, Liu Chan-ming (劉展明), attributed the silver medal to the efforts of the entire Olympic archery squad, including the women’s archery team that was ousted in the opening round a day earlier, for sharing tips on the venue.
“We are the best team,” Liu said.
In the team archery competition, the teams compete in games of six arrows, with each of the three team members firing two arrows. Winning a game earns two points and a tie is worth one point, with the first team to garner five points winning the match.
Taiwan advanced to the gold medal match after eliminating Australia in a shoot-off in the opening round, before topping China 5-1 in the quarter-finals earlier yesterday.
The archers then completed a three-game 6-0 whitewash of the Netherlands with five 10s out of six in the semi-finals to give themselves a shot at Olympic gold for the first time in 17 years.
Wei, Tang and Deng were likely hoping that momentum would carry over to the final, but when South Korea opened with a 59 in the first frame (five 10s and a 9) to Taiwan’s 55 and a perfect 60 in the second game to Taiwan’s 58, it was clear South Korea were headed for gold.
The silver was the third medal overall for Taiwan at this year’s Olympic Games. Table tennis mixed doubles duo Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒) and Cheng I-ching (鄭怡靜) added a bronze medal to the tally later yesterday.
Additional reporting by AP
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to