Taiwan’s Wei Chen-yang won gold in taekwondo at the Asian Games yesterday, the nation’s second in the sport and sixth overall.
Wei edged out Thailand’s Pen-Ek Karaket in the final of men’s under-58kg division to clinch gold.
The two athletes were tied 2-2 after the regulation three rounds and when neither scored a point in the extra round, Wei was given the decision on superiority.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Wei had a relatively easy road to the finals. He defeated Cambodia’s Bouthorn Chhoy 14-1 in the opening round, Uzbekistan’s Rustamjon Pulatov 7-1 in the quarter-finals and Paul Romero of the Philippines in the semi-finals, when Romero withdrew with 17 seconds left in the final round after Wei had built a 5-0 lead.
It was Taiwan’s second gold medal in taekwondo after Huang Hsien-yung won gold in the women’s under-46kg division on Wednesday.
Hsu Chia-lin also picked up a bronze for Taiwan in the men’s under-54kg division.
PHOTO: SAM YEH, AFP
Taiwan’s golfers also earned three bronze medals yesterday, finishing third in the men’s and women’s team events and in the men’s individual tournament.
Taiwan’s Hung Chien-yao shot a three-under 69 in the final round of the men’s individual tournament to finish at five-under, two shots ahead of golfers from Thailand, India and the Philippines, who had all started the day with or ahead of him on the leaderboard.
South Korea’s Kim Meen-whee crushed the field with a 15-under 273 to take gold. The silver went to Miguel Luis Tabuena of the Philippines, who finished a stroke ahead of Hung after he parred the 18th hole and Hung bogeyed it.
South Korea swept all four gold medals in the golf, winning the men’s and women’s team events and the men’s and women’s individual tournaments.
Taiwan also won a medal in badminton, the nation’s first in the sport since it returned to the Asian Games in 1990.
Taiwan’s Cheng Wen-hsing and Chen Hung-ling earned a bronze medal in the mixed doubles after losing to Chinese pair Zhao Yunlei and Zhang Nan 21-16, 21-15.
It was a bad day for Taiwan’s tennis players, though.
China’s Peng Shuai reached the last four of the women’s singles by defeating Taiwan’s Chang Kai-chen in a clash plagued by 89 unforced errors, which the Chinese star blamed on bright sunshine.
Peng, seeking to add singles gold to the women’s team title she captured with Li Na, won 6-2, 7-6 (7/1) and will tackle top seed Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan for a place in the gold medal match.
Date Krumm saw off battling South Korean Lee Jin-a 7-6 (7/2), 7-5.
Big-hitting Uzbek Akgul Amanmuradova needed three sets to beat Japan’s Ayumi Morita 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 and will next face India’s Sania Mirza, who comfortably defeated Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-2, 6-3.
In the men’s third round, top seed Uzbek Denis Istomin breezed past Jeong Suk-young of South Korea 6-3, 6-4, while Thailand’s defending champion Danai Udomchoke edged Taiwan’s Yang Tsung-hua 7-5, 7-5.
Second seed Somdev Devverman defeated Uzbekistan’s Vaja Uzakov 6-1, 6-1 and next meets China’s Zhang Ze, who beat South Korea’s Cho Soong-jae 6-4, 6-4.
Karan Rastogi was a 6-0, 6-4 winner over Taiwan’s Chen Ti and faces Istomin in the quarter-finals.
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
RSS