Lin Yu-mao, a 104-year-old badminton player from Taiwan, would compete in the upcoming World Masters Games in Taipei and New Taipei City, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism announced on Monday.
The department made the announcement at a news event to promote the 10th edition of the quadrennial event, which is to take place from May 17 to 31 in the neighboring cities.
The last edition of the international games was held in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2017.
Photo: Liu Yong-yun, Taipei Times
More than 2,000 athletes aged 65 or above would compete in the Games, with 15 participants aged 90 or above, including eight from Taiwan.
Four of those eight attended Monday’s news conference. The oldest was the 104-year-old Lin, whom the department highlighted as the Guinness World Records-certified oldest shuttler.
Lin attended the event in red, a color that he said makes people look energetic.
He said the secret to longevity was to exercise, singing and doing good deeds.
He initially practiced tai chi to stay young, but after realizing that he could get applause when playing badminton well, he switched to become a shuttler at the age of 50, he said.
Aside from Lin, woodball player Su Chen-tsun, and swimmers Chen Yen-ti and Lin Ju-tsung were also at the Monday event.
The 93-year-old Su said that with more than 20 years of experience in the sport, he is confident that he would keep the woodball gold medal at home in Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Chen said he has not only kept up swimming 1,600m twice a week, he also rides a bicycle and practices qigong to stay healthy.
With all of his athleticism, the 95-year-old Chen said he expected he would break his own national record in the 50m backstroke for people aged 90 to 94.
The 90-year-old Lin Ju-tsung’s advice to young athletes was the importance of a dive during a swim meet.
While Lin Yu-mao is Taiwan’s oldest athlete, the Taipei department announced that the oldest participant at this year’s quadrennial athletic event is a Thai centenarian track-and-field athlete who is 105.
Taipei Deputy Mayor Lin Yi-hua said that this edition of the World Masters Games attracted more than 25,000 applications.
The presence of more than 2,000 “ageless” athletes who are 65 or above would be in line to deliver the games’ motto, “sports beyond age and life without limits,” she said.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS