Taiwanese boxer Huang Hsiao-wen (黃筱雯) yesterday won bronze in the flyweight category at the Tokyo Olympics, the first medal Taiwan has ever won in the sport, after falling to world No. 2 Buse Naz Cakiroglu of Turkey in the semi-finals.
Huang, who is competing at the Olympics for the first time, lost 0-5 to Cakiroglu.
Despite the defeat, she won a medal because athletes who are defeated in a boxing semi-final at the Olympics are all awarded bronzes, unlike other Olympic sports in which losing semi-finalists vie for a single medal.
Photo: EPA-EFE
European champion Cakiroglu saw off the 1.76m Huang with a high-tempo, tactical performance, ducking Huang’s long jabs repeatedly before moving in swiftly on the counter.
Huang was visibly emotional after the bout, telling reporters how much the medal means to her and that she feels “extremely honored.”
Huang was outscored in all three rounds.
“I was too nervous,” Huang said. “Even though [Cakiroglu] is shorter, she exuded more confidence.”
Huang’s coach, Liu Tsung-tai (劉宗泰), said that his charge was not able to control her speed as well as her opponent, but he was still proud of her performance at her first Summer Games.
It has been tough for Huang to maintain her competition weight of 48kg to 51kg and he wants her to have some time off after returning to Taiwan, Liu said.
“And then we’ll start over,” he added.
Huang began crying again on hearing Liu’s words, saying that the medal is meaningful to her, being a first for Taiwan.
“I feel extremely honored to be able to bring this glory to Taiwan,” she said.
Cakiroglu is to fight 35-year-old Stoyka Zhelyazkova Krasteva of Bulgaria in Saturday’s flyweight gold medal match after she emerged on top despite a spirited performance by Japan’s Tsukimi Namiki.
“I am so, so happy, but I am trying to stay focused on the final as we came here ... to win the gold medal,” Cakiroglu said. “The mission is not complete yet.”
With Huang’s bronze, Taiwan has won 11 medals at the Tokyo Games — two gold, four silver and five bronze — the nation’s best-ever haul.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
RSS