Liu Yu-yun (劉侑芸) on Saturday won Taiwan’s first gold medal in 10 years at the World Taekwondo Championships in Wuxi, China.
Liu rallied to defeat Turkey’s Elif Sude Akgul 2-1 in the final of the women’s under-49kg division.
Liu, who represented Taiwan at the Summer World University Games in Germany in July, demonstrated superb form throughout the championships last week.
Photo: screengrab from the World Taekwondo’s Web site
After advancing through the opening rounds, she defeated Spanish Olympic silver medalist Adriana Cerezo Iglesias in the quarter-finals, then overcame Kazakhstan’s Nodira Akhmedova to reach the gold medal bout.
Facing Akgul in the final, Liu dropped the first round, but refused to back down. With no room for error, she launched a fierce comeback in the second round, landing a spinning head kick to seize the momentum and capitalize on scoring opportunities to tie the match 8-3.
In the decisive third round, Liu broke a back-and-forth battle, landing another precise head kick just before the final whistle. After a video review confirmed the three points, Liu sealed the 3-1 victory to capture the gold.
It was Taiwan’s first world taekwondo gold since Chuang Chia-chia (莊佳佳) in 2015. Liu, 18, is following in Chuang’s footsteps.
Head coach Su Tai-yuan (蘇泰源) praised Liu, saying that her 175cm height is a natural fit for the under-49kg class.
In related news, the national team won 17 medals at the Kettlebell World Championships, which concluded last week in Poland.
Taiwan won five gold, three silver, and nine bronze medals, with the gold medals going to Ting Ya-han (丁亞涵) and Tseng Yung-lin (曾詠麟).
Taiwanese athletes said they were moved when the Polish organizers played the Republic of China (ROC) national anthem, during which the athletes raised the ROC flag.
“I had never heard our national anthem played at an international competition in my life. The emotions I felt at that moment are something I’ll never forget,” Tseng wrote on Facebook.
The Taipei Representative Office in Poland also commended the athletes’ achievements, writing on Facebook: “Taiwanese athletes Ting Ya-han and Tseng Yung-lin captured gold medals with their outstanding performances. The organizers played our national anthem, which was a moment of pride and honor for Taiwan. At that moment, Taiwan shone — and we couldn’t be prouder. Thank you for letting the world see Taiwan!”
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