1. Bringing home Asian Games gold
The Asian Games provided Taiwan with the opportunity to shine on the regional stage and it did so, coming seventh of the 36 Asian countries that won medals -- its haul including 10 golds, 17 silvers and 25 bronzes.
Taiwan's golfers, archers, bowlers, billiards players and taekwondo fighters exceeded many of the expectations that were placed on them, while its rowers, cyclists, rugby and table tennis players managed to finish among the honors.
PHOTO: AP
2.Taiwan Major League folds
For the past six years the country's baseball fans have had to suffer while the powers-that-be have fought for control of the "national game."
Just two days before the year was to close, on Dec. 30, a short shareholders meeting dissolved the Taiwan Major League (TML), paving the way for a merger with the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) and a new six-team league.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The division of a limited fan base, foul play between the rival organizations and petty bickering had disillusioned many fans of the game.
With the successful hosting of the Baseball World Cup in 2001, however, there was a fresh impetus for baseball officials to put their houses in order and the fans flocked back to the ballpark.
The CPBL managed to make the most of this sea change and proved to be the stronger league, capitalizing on merger negotiations and providing the backbone for the new league.
PHOTO: AFP
3. Chen plays first MLB game
Chen Chin-feng (陳金鋒) became the country's first major league baseball player after playing his first game for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason.
The pinch hitter started the season as a first-baseman in the Triple-A, but got his callup on Sept. 14, at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies.
Chen cemented his place in Taiwan history and finished his brief Major Leagues season by going 0-for-5 with a walk and a run scored.
4. `King Kong' strikes
Taiwan's Hsia "The Unbeatable King Kong" Huei-kai (
The 27-year-old beat the world's "pool King" Efren Reyes of the Philippines and fellow Taiwanese Huang Kung-chang -- who took silver -- on the way to winning the 8-ball pool singles event.
Hsia peaked at exactly the right time to triumph against the world's No. 1 pool player, Reyes, in the semifinal and then beat countryman Huang in the final.
Hsia was a world junior champion in 1992 and 1993 and a 9-ball champion in 2000. His success at the Asian Games put him back on the map after two relatively lean years.
5. Taekwondo brings medals
A haul of three gold medals and four silvers in taekwondo at the Asian Games was outstanding considering the medals were won against stiff competition in the country where the martial arts discipline was formed.
Chen Shih-hsin (陳詩欣) struck first in the women's under-47kg class, beating Vietnam's Thi Huyen Dieu Nguyen and leading the way for victories by Huang Chih-hsiung (黃志雄) in the men's 62kg class and Wang I-hsien (王怡嫻) in the women's 72kg category.
6. Taroko hosts marathon
It was billed as the "most beautiful marathon" in the world and over 12,300 local and international runners and sports fans massed at Taroko National Park on Nov. 23 for the 2002 Taroko China Motor Marathon.
The race wound through the spectacular Taroko Gorge along the Central Cross-Island Highway on Hualien's Wenshan Mountain, through some of the most spectacular scenery in the country.
Local athlete Wu Wen-chien (
7. `Oriental Express' steams to victory
Though Taiwan has done well on the regional and international stage in table tennis, Chuan Chih-yuan's (
No other Taiwan player has achieved a Pro Tour victory and the win puts Chuan in the big ten of the sport. The "Oriental Express'" victory against Romanian-born Greek player Kalinikos Kreanga was a just reward for the 21-year-old's single-mindedness in getting to the top.
His parents were top table tennis players and Chuan was sent to China and then Germany to learn and to ply his trade.
8. Luck of the Irish at Asian Open
Padraig Harrington's persistence paid off when he overtook Holland's Maarten Lafeber on the final day of the BMW Asian Open held at the Ta Shee Golf and Country Club in Taoyuan.
India's Jyoti Randhawa finished in second place with the trio of Lafeber, South African Trevor Immelman and the US' Andrew Pitts tied in third place, one ahead of Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee, the reigning Asian Tour number one.
The Asian Open has become one of the main stops on both the Asian PGA and European tours.
9. Local hero fades at the end
Taiwan's Hsieh Yu-shu (
Home-crowd favorite Hsieh self-destructed down the final stretch of the Acer Taiwan Open for Chia to take his first Asian PGA Tour victory.
Hsieh had led at the start of the final day by six shots but needed to birdie the 18th hole of the Sunrise Golf and Country Club in Yangmei, Taoyuan County, to force a playoff. He missed and watching locals groaned as Hsieh's chance of glory slipped away.
10. `Bad boy' a popular winner
Former "bad boy" cyclist Lin Chih-hsun (
The 21-year-old from Taichung beat the heavily fancied favorite Keiichi Omori of Japan.
Lin went second to last in the eight-man group final and completed the 1km course in an impressive one minute, 5:470.
It left two-time Asian championship winner Omori a challenging ride but one that he was expected to beat. He failed by 0.39 of a second, handing Lin first prize.
The bleach-haired Lin showed off his tattoo of the devil prostrate on a cross on his arm after winning, saying that cycling had provided him with his one opportunity for success.
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