When judo veteran Lien Chen-ling (連珍羚) was eliminated in the round of 16 at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, she was crushed, breaking down in sobs in an interview after her defeat.
Yet it was because of that loss that the 36-year-old would have a chance on Monday next week at the Paris Olympics to show what she believes she is truly capable of achieving.
“If I had done my best at the Tokyo Olympics and still lost, I would have thought it was time to retire,” Lien said in an interview.
Photo courtesy of Start Point Marketing via CNA
Taiwanese fans had expected the “Queen of Judo” to outperform her fifth-place finish during her Olympic debut in Rio in 2016, but after a first-round bye, Lien was eliminated in the round of 16 by Slovenian judoka Kaja Kajzer.
She said before the event that “a mature athlete has to face the result bravely, no matter what, because it is a world of wins and losses.”
She reiterated this sentiment after losing, but that was not enough to block the tears.
Now she has a chance to rewrite history.
The International Judo Federation on June 25 confirmed her qualification in the women’s under-57kg weight class event in Paris.
She is to be joined by two other Taiwanese, Yang Yung-wei (楊勇緯) in the men’s under-60kg division and Lin Chen-hao (林真豪) in the women’s under-48 kg division.
Now in the twilight of her career, Lien said she was approaching the competition with a different mindset.
Looking back at what happened in Tokyo, Lien said she realized that she had been overwhelmed by stress, as she “painfully” prepared for the event.
“I stressed myself out every day. I wasn’t really enjoying the moment and that affected my performance,” she said.
“That performance was not my full potential. I have not shown the world what I am capable of doing,” Lien said. “If I had retired then, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.”
Lien said her goal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, had been to win the gold medal, but not everyone believed in her.
A person close to Lien even told her it was “impossible,” which only fueled her desire.
“That ‘impossible’ remark was etched in my memory. The more you say so, the more I am going to prove you wrong,” she said.
Lien won the gold medal in judo at her fourth Asian Games on Sept. 25 last year, the first ever won by a Taiwanese woman, after defeating Japanese standout Momo Tamaoki, an opponent she had never beaten before.
“It does not matter if the whole world does not believe in me. I believe in myself,” Lien said at the time.
That does not mean she would be one of the favorites in her weight class. She only made it to the round of 16 in the 2023 World Judo Championships, was knocked out in the first round of this year’s event in Abu Dhabi in May and is currently ranked 21st in the world.
However, Lien said that as she enters her third Olympics, she wants to appreciate her experience as much as possible.
“I want to savor each moment, from the preparatory stage to when I take to the Olympic stage, moments that only belong to me and only I can experience,” she wrote on Facebook after officially clinching her Olympic berth.
Lien had taken a roundabout route to reaching the pinnacle of her sport.
Born to former deputy police commissioner Lien Chin-he (連金河), she first joined a judo club in third grade to avoid morning study sessions.
Lien said she fought with boys so often that she was always afraid teachers would tell her mother what she did when she came to pick her up.
After high school, Lien said she had hoped to follow in her father’s footsteps and attend Central Police University, but she did not do well enough on her entrance exams and instead enrolled at National Taiwan Sport University.
In her sophomore year, Lien chose to study in Japan. After graduating, she started her professional judo career by joining the Komatsu Women’s Judo Club.
Sixteen years have since gone by and she has won more than 20 medals, including golds at the 2015 Judo Budapest Grand Prix and the 2017 Baku Grand Slam.
Lien said that “it definitely would have scared the hell out of me” if she had been told at the age of 20 that she would be in Japan for 16 years.
“Joining a pro club was something far beyond my reach, because it is super competitive. How lucky would I have to be to stay there so long?” she said.
In a post in mid-June, Lien said she has often asked herself what it means to be a successful judoka.
“I think a successful judoka is one who has many fans rooting for you,” she said.
For that reason, “though I am still practicing, I will approach my third Olympics with a mindset of tranquility and stability,” she wrote.
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