Heptathlete Chen Cai-juan on Friday ended Taiwan’s nearly three-decade medal drought in the heptathlon at the Asian Athletics Championships by finishing third in Gumi, South Korea.
Chen secured the bronze after clocking 2 minutes, 28.25 seconds in the 800m at Gumi Stadium, earning 715 points in the final event for a total score of 5,608.
She finished behind India’s Nandini Agasara (5,941 points) and China’s Liu Jingyi, who scored 5,869 points.
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association, via CNA
Taiwan’s last medal in the heptathlon at the biennial multi-event competition was won in 1998 when Ma Chun-ping took a bronze in Fukuoka, Japan.
“I kept dreaming of winning a medal coming into this competition. Now that the dream has come true, I’m so, so excited,” Chen said after the meet.
At this year’s National Intercollegiate Athletic Games, Chen broke Ma’s long-standing national record with a total score of 5,701, earning her a fifth straight heptathlon title.
Although she has dominated domestically, Chen admitted she had struggled at international meets, saying that her biggest improvement this time was maintaining confidence.
“I think what I did best this time was my mindset. Even in the events I’m not good at, I told myself I’m strong and can compete with others as long as I step onto the track and field,” Chen said.
She dedicated the bronze medal to her coach, Yang Ching-lung, who she has trained with at the National Sports Training Center for two years.
“I’ve never seen him smile once. I hope he will smile this time,” she joked.
Taiwan’s other heptathlete at the meet, 18-year-old Lin Pei-hsuan, finished seventh among nine competitors, with 4,747 points.
The Asian Athletics Championships, a biennial event organized by the Asian Athletics Association, took place from May 27 to yesterday in Gumi, South Korea.
In all, Taiwanese athletes won one silver and four bronze medals at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships.
Taiwan ranked 14th overall by medal count.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
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