Taiwanese athletes yesterday bagged three more gold medals at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, with wins in the men’s and women’s 3,000m speedskating relay and the men’s individual 1,000m canoe event.
In speedskating, the women’s team, comprising Liu Yi-hsuan (劉懿萱), Li Meng-chu (李孟竹), Yang Ho-chen (楊合貞) and Shih Pei-yu (施沛妤), defeated South Korea and India in a time of 4 minutes, 19.447 seconds.
The men’s team, made up of Chao Tsu-cheng (趙祖政), Huang Yu-lin (黃玉霖), Chen Yan-cheng (陳彥成) and Ko Fu-shiuan (柯福軒) also won gold by defeating South Korea and India with a time of 4:19.950.
Photo: CNA
The win was somewhat dramatic as South Korea were leading the way when Jung Cheol-won lifted his arms anticipating a victory as the finish line approached, but did not realize Huang was closing in. Taiwan beat South Korea by 0.01 seconds.
Meanwhile, Lai Kuan-chieh (賴冠傑) won a gold medal for Taiwan in the men’s canoe single 1,000m final.
In weightlifting, held back by multiple injuries, Olympic weightlifting champion Kuo Hsing-chun (郭婞淳) was unable to defend her 2018 Asian Games title and settled for bronze in the women’s 59kg weight class.
Photo: AP
The 29-year-old Taiwanese entered yesterday’s competition with a back injury from earlier this year and also hurt her right thigh while warming up, she said after the event.
Clearly not at her best, she lifted 101kg in the snatch and 126kg in the clean and jerk for a combined 227kg.
Her combined lift was 4kg lighter than the 231kg she posted at the World Weightlifting Championships in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, where she finished fourth.
Photo: AFP
Kim Il-gyong of North Korea won the gold medal with a combined weight of 246kg, consisting of a world record snatch of 111kg and a clean and jerk of 135kg, to continue a stunning performance by the North Korea team in Hangzhou
Taiwanese sprinter Yang Chun-han (楊俊瀚) won bronze in the men’s 200m to score Taiwan’s first athletics medal at this year’s games.
The 26-year-old edged out Qatar’s Femi Ogunode, who was born in Nigeria, by 0.01 seconds to finish third in 20.74 seconds.
Taiwan’s softball team defeated the Philippines 3-2 to win the bronze medal in softball yesterday.
The victory kept Taiwan’s streak alive of medaling in every Asian Games softball competition since the sport became an official Asian Games event in 1990.
Taiwan’s e-sports team on Sunday night also won a bronze medal in a modified version of the video game PUBG Mobile.
In the event, four-person teams competed in four rounds of the game’s newly released “off-road racing” mode, in which competitors race and pass checkpoints where they can shoot at targets for additional points.
The tournament did not feature the game’s “battle royale” mode, as it was thought that having players shooting at each other was contrary to “Olympic values,” media outlets reported.
This year marks the first time the Asian Games have featured e-sports competitions.
Other e-sport categories include League of Legends, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition and EA Sports FC Online.
WHEELING AND DEALING? Hou You-yi, Ko Wen-je, Eric Chu and Ma Ying-jeou are under investigation for allegedly offering bribes for the other side to drop out of the race Taipei prosecutors have started an investigation into allegations that four top politicians involved in attempts to form a “blue-white” presidential ticket have contravened election regulations. Listed as defendants are Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). The case stemmed from judicial complaints filed last month with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office alleging that the KMT (blue) and the TPP (white) had engaged in bribery by offering money or other enticements
COUNTER DISINFORMATION: More engagement and media literacy are needed to push back against misinformation and claims that the US is an unreliable partner, the AIT director said The US is “confident” that Taiwan does not face an imminent threat of a Chinese invasion, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk told a US public radio show, adding that Washington remains committed to defensively arming the nation. She made the comment during an interview on All Things Considered, broadcast on Friday on US-based National Public Radio. “There is an important distinction between making plans and training troops, and getting ready to do something,” Oudkirk said, on whether she thinks Beijing plans to attack Taiwan in the near future. Chinese officials have told Washington that “their preference is for peaceful reunification,
EXPOSED: Some Taipei wardens reported joining the trips out of peer pressure, while others said they were relieved it was made public so they could refuse, a city councilor said Nearly 30 percent of Taipei borough wardens have joined group tours to China that were partially funded by the Chinese government, leading prosecutors probing potential Chinese interference in January’s elections to question local officials, an investigation showed. Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City councilors Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) and Chen E-jun (陳怡君) have reported cases of Taipei borough wardens inviting residents to join inexpensive privately organized group tours to China that were partially funded by the Chinese government. The six-day trips reportedly cost NT$10,000 to NT$15,000, the councilors said. An investigation by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) showed that nearly 30 percent
ELIGIBLE FOR JANUARY: All presidential candidates and their running mates meet the requirements to run for office, and none hold dual citizenship, the CEC said Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator and vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈) is working with the Central Election Commission (CEC) to resolve issues with her financial disclosure statement, a spokesman for the candidate said yesterday, after the commission published the statements of all three presidential candidates and their running mates, while confirming their eligibility to run in the Jan. 13 election. Wu’s office spokesman, Chen Yu-cheng (陳宥丞), said the candidate encountered unforeseen difficulties disclosing her husband’s finances due to being suddenly thrust into the campaign. She is also the first vice presidential nominee to have a foreign spouse, complicating the reporting of