Taiwanese boxer Chen Nien-chin and archer Lin Chia-en had their hopes of Olympic podium finishes dashed yesterday after losing in the quarter-finals and round-of-16 of their respective events.
Chen, 24, who was participating in her second Games, lost to Lovlina Borgohain of India in a split 4-1 decision in the women’s welter (64-69kg) category quarter-final bout at Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo.
In the opening round, Chen was able to throw several effective punches against Borgohain as she pinned her opponent against the ropes, but she still lost the round by a combined 48-47 on the five judges’ cards.
Photo: AFP
The Indian boxer came back strong in the second round, overpowering the Taiwanese, and she successfully went on to win the three-round match on a split decision that Chen felt was fair.
“Today, the opponent came well prepared and won,” Chen said after the bout, adding that she had no regrets over the outcome.
“You win some and you lose some,” Chen said, feeling some satisfaction in improving on her performance at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro when she only reached the round-of-16.
Photo: AP
The Taiwanese boxer said she would now aim for the next Olympics, which are to take place in Paris in 2024.
“I’m still young and I will never give up boxing,” Chen said.
Chen’s fate was shared by her Taiwanese teammate Wu Shih-yi in the round-of-16 of the women’s light (57-60kg) category, who fell to a 5-0 defeat to Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira.
Archer Lin’s run in Tokyo was cut short by an American in the round-of-16 of the women’s individual event.
She was beaten by fifth seed Mackenzie Brown 6-2 in a four-set match held at Yumenoshima Final Field.
Lin simply could not match her opponent’s consistency. Brown scored a 27 and three 28s in her four sets (each set consists of three arrows with a maximum score of 10 per arrow) to Lin’s 23, 26, 27 and 28.
That was especially apparent in the second frame, when Lin simply needed a 9 on her final arrow to clinch the two points for winning a set and evening the match. Instead, she shot an 8 to go up 28-18 and Brown responded with a 10 to snatch one point from the set and take a 3-1 lead.
After the match, Lin said that she had been feeling the pressure since Thursday, when she won round-of-64 and round-of-32 matches, because she was the only remaining Taiwanese archer in the competition.
“The pressure was still there today,” Lin said, adding that her rhythm was a bit off.
However, she was still happy to get a round further than she did at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
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