Despite an outstanding gold medal in tennis, another silver in taekwondo and a bronze in karate for Taiwan, the 14th Asian Games has lost a little of its luster because of claims of cheating.
Thursday's men's taekwondo under-54kg category bout in which Chu Mu-yen (
Even some South Koreans watching the replay yesterday said they did not know why South Korea was given the decision. Volunteer Yu Yong-chia said, "I thought Taipei was the winner but perhaps he won because of home advantage."
PHOTO: AP
A Taiwan supporter who said she preferred not to be named was more outspoken and said the Korean gold was tarnished.
"We were raped. They [South Korea] may win the gold medal but it will not do its reputation any good," she said.
There have also been complaints leveled at the judging in boxing by Vietnam, Thailand, Yemen and other nations.
"It's disgusting, I'm very upset about it," Thai trainer Ismael Salas was quoted as saying by the Korean Times.
Korean Amateur Boxing Fed-eration President Kim Sung-eun rejected allegations of cheating, however, saying the draw for the fights were not made by Koreans and the scorers were all from neutral countries.
There have also been cries of foul in gymnastics, bowling and even golf.
In the women's taekwondo welter weight under-67kg final yesterday, Chang Wan-chen (張婉貞) pit her wits against South Korean champion Kim Su-ok and though she lost there were few complaints except over the margin given for her defeat, 6-4.
The 23-year-old from Taipei County lost ground at the beginning of the match and could not recover in time to beat the Korean.
In the women's karate under-53kg class, Hsieh Ai-chien (
With just two days more of competition, Taiwan is ranked seventh in the medal standings, ahead of North Korea and behind Thailand. It has eight gold medals, 14 silvers and 19 bronzes.
The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee was asked to comment on the brouhaha over judging but said it would consider its response.
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