Wed, Aug 25, 2004 page2

• Archers hit the mark in Athens

  HITTING THE BULLSEYE Thus far, Taiwan's athletes have won two medals in the Athens Olympics, both in archery. The archers talk about their future plans

  • By Lin Chieh-yu / STAFF REPORTER
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  After eleven days of competition, Taiwan's Olympic team at Athens has netted just one silver and one bronze, both won by its oft-neglected archers. The six-member squad has now become a focus of attention for Taiwan's sports fans. The Taipei Times caught up with them to hear their story.

  A bronze medal was won by Taiwan's women's archery team: Yuan Shu-chi, Wu Hui-ju and Chen Li-ju.

  

  The three members of team Taiwan's men's archery team, from left to right: Lin Ming-huang, Wang Cheng-pang and Chen Szu-yuan.

  PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

  Yuan Shu-chi: 19 years old, from Nantou County, a seven-year archery career.

  

  The three members of Team Taiwan's female archery team, from left to right: Wu Hui-ju, Yuan Shu-chi and Chen Lli-ju.

  PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

  Taipei Times: You lost the bronze in the individual event by a single point, but led the fight for the bronze in the team event. Are you satisfied with this achievement?

  Yuan Shu-chi (袁叔琪): I am still very disappointed, for I was hoping to perform well in the individual event to prove that my victory over South Korea's Olympic champion Yun Mi-jin in the 2000 Asian games was not a fluke.

  Ever since I won that gold medal, I have been under enormous pressure. I have not won gold at any international event since then, and even in the selection competition for the Olympics, I came second to [teammate] Wu Hui-ju. People were saying that my victory over Yun had been lucky, that she hadn't been on form. I was much more concerned about my performance in the individual event, and wasn't under so much pressure in the team event.

  TT: You won the quarterfinal by defeating Yun, but seemed to lose form in the semis. What happened?

  Yuan: Shih Ya-ping (施雅萍), my coach, put the focus of the competition on defeating Yun, so I was fully primed for that confrontation. In fact, neither of us performed well, and I won simply because I was more consistent.

  TT: Are you dissatisfied with your coach's direction? Are you planning future improvements?

  Yuan: Shih has competed on the national team, and I am grateful for her guidance, but she is after all just 25 and only become a coach at 22. I am rather tomboyish, and we have become like sisters or friends, so she doesn't have the authority of a coach in dealing with me. I feel that she is unable, at the crucial moment, to provide the advice to push me forward.

  I think I would like the challenge of working with a South Korean coach. The Korean coach brought in by the Australian team is excellent, helping the Australians win gold at Sydney. I would like to train under her direction.

  Wu Hui-ju: 22 years old, from Tainan County, an 11-year archery career.

  TT: The media describes you as someone who gets nervous easily. Why is this?

  Wu Hui-ju (吳蕙如): I come from a poor family. My mother is a cook in a school and my father is a fishmonger. They are very strict. I am now a university senior, but they don't want me to have a boyfriend until after I graduate. I really cherish everything that archery has given me, for if it weren't for archery, I would not have had the chance to go to university. My sister is studying very hard, but still has not passed her university entrance exams.

  Because of my archery training, I never had any days off and when my friends went to play, I would go to school and practice. I was sad and bitter and wanted to give up. After I won the national championship and was admitted to the National College of Physical Education and Sports, I felt better.

  TT: Most of Taiwan's archers retire very early, as they have few prospects. Will you continue to compete and what plans do you have for the future?

  Wu: I will continue to compete. The environment in Taiwan is changing, and now we have gotten results in the Olympics and the World Championships. This proves that we have a future [in the sport]. I will be aiming at the next Olympics. The National Council on Physical Education and Sport and the Archery Association, along with private sponsors, will be holding more competitions in Taiwan, with bigger prize money than before. We will have a stage to perform and will also be financially more secure. Eventually I hope to become an archery instructor.

  Chen Li-ju: 23 years old, a seven-year archery career.

  TT: In the competition, people were most worried about your performance. Did this put a lot of pressure on you?

  Chen Li-ju (陳麗如): I knew this, because I know I am weaker than my two teammates, but with guidance from our team psychologists, I was able to maintain my self-confidence. I wasn't expecting to win anything, so that I was calm during the competition, so I was actually under less pressure than Yuan and Wu.

  TT: Do you think this Olympic victory will change things for archers in Taiwan, or will there simply be lots of noisy celebrating now, and then everyone will forget about you again?

  Chen: The Athens victory is the result of 20 years of archery development in Taiwan. Archery in Taiwan is divided into factions and schools, but this time people were more willing to work together, so we had better training. But I don't know what it will be like in future. After returning to Taiwan, it all returns to zero. I hope people can cooperate more, but I dare not say that this success will change things in Taiwan's sports world.

  MEN'S ARCHERY TEAM

  A silver medal was won by the men's archery team: Chen Szu-yun, Liu Ming-huang and Wang Cheng-pang.

  Chen Szu-yuan: 23 years old, from Taipei County, 12-year archery career.

  TT: You are the oldest member of Taiwan's archery contingent, and you almost got into the semifinals. What inspiration has the Athens Olympics given you?

  Chen Szu-yuan (陳詩園): The veteran archer Hiroshi Yamamoto won the men's silver medal at 42 years of age, producing the most exciting shootout in the semifinals against Australia's Tim Cuddihy. Yamamoto prevailed with his 13th arrow, getting a 10 for that shot. I think archery is very suited to Asians, especially older people with greater wisdom. For this reason I will continue to compete. My only worry is that next year I will graduate from graduate school and I will have to find a job. If my job doesn't allow me to train, then my archery career will come to an end.

  Taiwan has sponsors for table tennis, badminton and baseball. People are hired as staff members, but they are allowed to focus on training. I hope this can happen for archery as well.

  TT: Taiwan's men's archery team has never before stood out in international competitions, so people have tended to ignore the sport. How have you encouraged yourself in these years of training?

  Chen: I must thank my coach who has helped me through two world championships, three Asia Cup competitions, one Asian Games and now the Olympics. I also must thank my high school coach Chiu Shu-min (邱淑敏), and also Hsu Wen-ling (許文玲).

  In moments of depression, I have thought of giving up archery. In a day of practice I would only shoot 60, 70 arrows. I became engrossed by computers, I mean assembling and configuring computers. My coach talked me out of my depression, and now in training I shoot 500 or 600 arrows a day.

  My aim is to participate in the 2006 Asian Games and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

  TT: During the preliminary competition, your performance was brilliant, breaking an Olympic record, then in the quarterfinals, you allowed the competition to catch up, shooting a 7 with your final arrow, your worst shot of the competition. How did that feel?

  Chen: During the early part of the competition I didn't think of anything. My mind was clear and I was able to perform well. By the quarterfinals, I was in medal contention and my mind was full of hope. I became nervous. This is the result of thinking too much. It is a lesson I have learned, but this lesson cost me a medal.

  Liu Ming-huang: 19 years old, from Puli in Nantou County, a nine-year archery career.

  TT: You have been an archer for nine years, making you the men's team's most junior archer. Do you think that Athens has helped your development?

  Liu Ming-huang (劉明煌): Although I started early, facilities in primary and secondary school were poor and it was very hard to make progress. Only after I was selected by coach Lin Cheng-hsien (林政賢) in university, in the last year or so, has archery become easier and I have began to show quality.

  Seeing the women's team lose by one point in two competitions was probably my greatest learning experience. I fully realized how important it was to maintain a "normal" state. Winning a medal should not be the goal; you should challenge yourself, give your best. Coach Lin constantly encouraged us to believe in ourselves. This realization has brought me satisfaction.

  TT: After you won the semifinals, your competitiveness seemed to evaporate and you were easily defeated by the South Koreans. Shouldn't you have fought harder even if you didn't think you had a good chance of winning?

  Chen: You're right, but basically they were a stronger team, especially psychologically. We might be able to compete against them purely on skill, but they are much more mature psychologically. I plan to study abroad next year, learn from the Koreans, and put in a better performance at the 2006 Asian Games.

  Wang Cheng-pang: 17 years old, from Hualien County, 10-year archery career.

  TT: You are the youngest of the archery contingent, still in the second year of senior high school. How did you prepare yourself for the Olympics?

  Wang Cheng-pang (王正邦): I see archery as a way of making friends. Many people have given me support and encouragement, including the principal of my school and the Hualien County Commissioner.

  I was very confident going to the games and my greatest regret is that I was eliminated early from the individual competition. I was very depressed after this, but fortunately my girlfriend constantly sent me text messages to encourage me. After seeing the women lose by just one point, I felt that I should not be depressed, for I still had a lot to learn.

  TT: Why do you think the men performed better than the women in this competition?

  Wang: The three archers and our coach are very close and we don't distinguish between seniors and juniors. We trust each other and that is why we were able to perform so well. I must still learn ways to become uninfluenced by pressure, and though my teammates are more mature than me, they must do the same. Maybe we should seek out professional psychological advice. In future competition, I don't want us to lose because I was not able to deal with the pressure.
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