After winning a fruit and vegetable carving competition in South Korea last year, 23-year-old Yang Po-wei (楊柏偉) once again brought home an impressive victory after winning a gold and a silver at the second European Fruit and Vegetable Carving Championship earlier this month.
A graduate student from Taiwan Shoufu University’s department of recreational management, Yang was the youngest and the only Taiwanese contestant in the four-day competition, which brought together more than 280 people from 22 countries in Moscow from Oct. 1 to Oct. 4.
There were three categories that individual participants competed in: D3, D4, D5.
Photo: courtesy of Taiwan Shoufu University
Participants competing in category D3 were required to make a Halloween-themed sculpture out of raw fruits or vegetables, while the inspiration for D4 was “Bird 3D.”
Contestants in category D5 had to present a cocktail composition consisting of sculptures carved from two watermelons and two papayas.
Yang competed in all three categories.
The 23-year-old was originally confident of winning the championship in the D5 category as he had practiced on watermelons many times.
However, he was beaten by a Ukrainian contestant by a narrow margin and took the silver instead.
Nevertheless, Yang impressed the panel of judges in the D3 category with his delicate carving skills and the clear-cut theme of his work, winning the gold medal.
At the award ceremony, Yang was seen proudly waving a Republic of China (ROC) flag as he received the medals from a presenter.
Recounting the process of learning the craft, Yang said the process was extremely painstaking and that his fingers had even become deformed from many hours of practice.
“I sacrificed several winter and summer vacations so that I could learn these skills from a master,” Yang said.
“I am glad I persevered and did not give up,” he added.
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