Taiwanese table tennis rising star Chen Po-yen on Wednesday advanced to the semifinals of the men’s singles TT11 category at the Paris Paralympics, securing at least a bronze medal despite a scoring error by the referee.
Chen said that his coach, Wei Chun-ta, had written the word “focus” on his palm, which helped him maintain concentration during the match.
At just 17, Chen is the youngest member of Taiwan’s Paralympic team.
Photo: CNA
He experienced cognitive impairment as a child after a fall, but later followed his sister into the world of table tennis.
His relentless determination quickly propelled him into the spotlight. Last year, Chen won the men’s singles championship at the Virtus Global Games, making him the first Taiwanese athlete to qualify for the Paris Paralympics.
He continued his winning streak by claiming gold in the men’s singles at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games.
Considered one of Taiwan’s top medal contenders at this year’s Paralympics, Chen faced Belgium’s Florian Van Acker, the 2016 Rio Paralympics gold medalist, in the TT11 men’s singles quarter-finals.
Chen dominated the first two games with scores of 11-9 and 11-7. Despite a setback in the third game, he rallied in the fourth, winning 11-7 to secure his spot in the semi-finals and guarantee a medal.
With this victory, Chen joined teammates Lin Tzu-yu, Tian Shiau-wen and Cheng Ming-chih in ensuring that every member of Taiwan’s Paralympic table tennis team would get a medal.
Speaking to the media after the match, Chen expressed joy at winning a medal in his Paralympic debut, describing it as a huge relief. He also said that seeing the word “focus” written on his palm before every serve was a great help.
Wei said Van Acker was one of the four key opponents they had focused on preparing to play against and they were surprised to face him in the first match.
Chen’s sparring partners worked hard to simulate Van Acker’s style of play, he added.
“Chen performed exceptionally well under pressure today, which has eased our nerves and given us even more confidence as we aim for gold,” Wei said.
A notable moment happened in the first game when a referee’s scoring error briefly disrupted the match. However, Chen remained composed and quickly adjusted.
Wei said that Chen was leading 2-1 when the main referee issued a warning to Van Acker for an illegal serve. However, the assistant referee failed to record the point on the scoreboard, resulting in the rally being replayed.
Reflecting on the situation, Chen said: “I didn’t dwell on it. I just focused on winning the point back.”
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
Australian Alex de Minaur reached the second week of the US Open for the third year in a row with little fanfare on Saturday and said he intended to keep winning until the tournament organizers were forced to give him better billing. Despite being the eighth seed and a quarter-finalist last year at Flushing Meadows, De Minaur’s third-round match against German Daniel Altmaier was scheduled for Court 17 — the smallest of the four stadium venues in the precinct. “It is a little bit of a headscratcher for me. I’m not gonna lie,” he told reporters after progressing 6-7 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4,
RIVALRY: Carlos Alcaraz lost his previous two matches against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in the Australian Open quarter-finals this year and Paris Olympics final last year Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday dazzled at the US Open to make the semi-finals before Novak Djokovic of Serbia danced his way through to book a New York showdown with the Spaniard that would mark the latest chapter in their generational rivalry. Former champion Alcaraz produced yet another entertaining display at Flushing Meadows to dismantle 20th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 at a sunbathed Arthur Ashe Stadium, securing his place in the last four without dropping a set this year. “Sometimes I play a shot that I should not play in that moment, but it’s the way I love
Spain are in danger of not getting out of EuroBasket Group C after losing 67-63 to Italy on Tuesday, but the defending champions still control their destiny. Marco Spissu put Italy in front for good at 64-63 with two free throws with 31 seconds left and made two more with 14 seconds remaining. Giampaolo Ricci converted one of two free throws with eight seconds on the clock. Spain, which in 2022 won their fourth title, are tied with Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 2-2 each. Greece and Italy have clinched two of the group’s four spots in the round-of-16,
RSS