Sat, Nov 09, 2002 page20

• Legendary gymnasts set dates for Taiwan

  FLYING VISIT Probably one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, Nadia Comaneci will join ex-Olympic and world champion Oksana Chusovitina next month in Taipei

  • By Jules Quartly / STAFF REPORTER
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  Not one but two former world and Olympic champion gymnasts will be coming to Taiwan next month for the China Motors International Gymnastics Cup, organizers confirmed yesterday.

  Oksana Chusovitina, who cleaned up with double gold and two silver medals at the recently concluded Busan Asian Games in South Korea, will be disappointed if she does not repeat her successes at previous Gymnastics Cup events.

  While former "Romanian Genie," Nadia Comaneci will make a flying visit to promote the Gymnastics Cup and provide a springboard for the development of the sport in Taiwan, particularly among the young.

  

  Gymnasts Lin Yung-hsi, front, and Chiang Pi-hsuan pose at a press conference yesterday to promote the upcoming China Motors International Gymnastics Cup.

  PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

  The initiative is the result of a change in strategy jointly engineered by the National Olympic Committee and the National Council of Physical Fitness and Sports.

  The new policy is intended to bring sporting success to Taiwan by channeling resources into sports that it is more likely to do well in.

  New deal

  Support for winter sports like the luge and bobsledding are being reduced because it is recognized Taiwan is unlikely to do well -- since it has no snow slopes to speak of and training in the US or Europe is prohibitively expensive.

  Instead, money will be directed toward sports it has already had some success in, such as baseball, table tennis, taekwondo, wushu, judo and shooting. In addition, sports that Taiwanese might excel in will also be encouraged.

  It has been an approach that has served China and its burgeoning sports industry well. Mainland athletes won a first gold medal in gymnastics at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and is expected to dominate the sport in the new century.

  While it could be coincidence that Taiwan is now focussing on gymnastics too, the fact is the powers that be seem to have got their act together and are now busily promoting the sport.

  Private funding through China Motors and government funds courtesy of the Chinese Taipei Gymnastics Association have been pooled to make the Gymnastics Cup a truly international event.

  Nine countries will be sending 56 athletes to the Gymnastics Cup, which will be held in Taipei on Dec. 14 to Dec. 15. Before then, however, there will be a program rehearsal for the Cup which will be held in Kaohsiung on Dec. 12. Entrance to the events will be free.

  China Motor Corporation Deputy General Manager Ting Fu-hsing (丁復興) said yesterday at the press conference in Taipei, it was important for Taiwan businesses to get involved in sports and there were two-way benefits from such a venture.

  "Since this is sports marketing year it is only natural that big business would want to back gymnastics," Hsing said.

  "Private sponsorship has struck a deal with the sports ministry and there is no reason why Taiwan cannot do well in gymnastics.

  "Sports and marketing are not new things but we are trying to make it bigger this year. This is sports marketing year for us and we want to put Taiwan on the sporting map," Hsing said.

  "We now support gymnastics, baseball (through the Brother Elephants) and the Taroko Gorge Marathon, sports that Taiwan has done well in already or will do well in the future."

  Going for bronze

  Also at the press conference yesterday, gymnast Lin Yung-hsi (林永錫) gave a small demonstration for the media and said that he would be going for a bronze medal at the Gymnastics Cup.

  "We [Taiwanese] are getting better because there is now support from entrepreneurs and the Executive Yuan. More people are getting to know the sport and are getting good at it," Lin said.

  Organizers of the event said there would be a men's and women's all-round competition and single category events comprising floor exercise, the pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, horizontal bars and balance beam.

  Comaneci, who won five Olympic gold medals, three silver, and one bronze, including a perfect score at the Montreal Olympics, will be coming to Taiwan as an ambassador for the sport.

  She is expected to give some workshops and attend the national training center for gymnastics in Kaohsiung. Organizers said they hoped she would inspire a "gymnastics frenzy" in the country.

  Call the free ticket hotline 0800 333 230. Four tickets per person maximum.
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