Taiwanese badminton player Lee Chia-hsin on Wednesday said that her team’s win in the women’s doubles match of their successful mixed team final against China was a strike back after she and her partner were beaten in the mixed doubles at the FISU World University Games in Chengdu, China.
Lee said it was “sweet revenge” when she and Teng Chun-hsun dispatched Li Wenmei and Liu Xuanxuan 21-12, 27-25 to seal gold with the score tied at two matches each after the mixed doubles, men’s singles, women’s singles and men’s doubles of the final.
The win meant that Taiwan defended their mixed team title.
Photo: CNA
“Even when I was playing the women’s doubles for the fifth [deciding] point [in the mixed team final], I was still wondering why we’d lost the mixed doubles,” Lee told reporters, referring to the 21-11, 21-12 drubbing she and Ye Hong-wei were handed by He Jiting and Du Yue.
Taiwan’s gold was won against a home team cheered on loudly by fans in the packed Shuangliu Sports Center Gymnasium.
However, that put pressure on the Chinese players and left the Taiwanese shuttlers free to focus on the games, Lee said.
Photo: CNA
“I would say it was really classy to beat the opponents on their home turf. It gave me goosebumps, especially when I was standing on the podium,” said Lee, who won the mixed doubles title with Ye at the Super 300 US Open last month.
Taiwan coach Liao Wei-che said that the gold medal boosted the nation’s badminton players at the competition and their goal is “to finish in the top three in each category.”
The men’s and women’s singles, and doubles, as well as the mixed doubles begin today.
Photo: CNA
In taekwondo, Taiwan’s Jung Jiun-jie grabbed silver in the men’s over-87kg category, losing to No. 4 Emre Atesli of Turkey in the final at Sichuan University’s Wangjiang Campus Gymnasium on Wednesday.
It was the first international medal for Jung, a student at National Changhua University of Education.
Jung attributed his deep run to a favorable draw, but said he fell short in the final.
“Sorry, coach, I tried my best,” Jung said to Su Tai-yuan as he thanked him for his dedication to instruction.
Su said that Jung showed diligence and has been an inspiration in Taiwan, which does not have many taekwondoin who can compete at international heavyweight events.
“Although the physical build of our athletes is not as great as their foreign competitors, [we] may still achieve a different kind of greatness,” Su said.
Su Po-ya was to vie for a gold medal after press time last night in the women’s under-53kg final.
She was to go up against Nahid Kiyanichandeh of Iran after eliminating Germany’s Madeline Folgmann 2-0, the Czech Republic’s Dominika Hronova 2-1 and Alma Maria Perez of Spain 2-0 in their semi-final.
In the men’s under-63kg category earlier yesterday, Taiwan’s Hsu Hao-yu earned a bronze after exiting in the semi-finals, beaten 2-1 by Hakan Recber of Turkey.
Chiu Shao-hsuan also won bronze in the women’s under-62kg category on Wednesday after losing her semi-final 2-0 against Sasikarn Tongchan of Thailand.
In the women’s over-73kg category on Wednesday, Ma Ting-hsia won bronze after a 2-0 loss in her semi-final against China’s Xu Lei.
In basketball, Taiwan’s men’s team lost against Poland 85-82.
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