Taiwan’s Su Po-ya yesterday won a gold medal — Taiwan’s third — in the Asian Games under-53kg women’s taekwondo in a stunning defeat of the top-ranked Asian in the category.
Su overwhelmed world No. 10 and Asian No. 1 Ha Min-ah of South Korea with a flurry of punches and kicks to the body to prevail 29-10 in the final at the Jakarta Convention Center Plenary Hall.
Taiwan’s shooter Yang Kung-pi yesterday won a gold medal — Taiwan’s second at the Games — in the men’s trap shooting event after nearly being eliminated in the competition’s qualifying round. Yang tied the world record by hitting 48 of his 50 targets to grab gold, beating Indian Lakshay.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Lakshay hit 43 of his 50 targets, while Yang also defeated South Korea’s Ahn Dae-myong, who connected with 30 of 40 targets.
The 20-year-old was in sixth after Sunday’s qualifying rounds and in the second qualifying round earlier yesterday secured the sixth and last spot in the final by a single shot.
Taiwan’s shooter Lu Shao-chuan won a bronze medal in the men’s 10-meter air rifle final, his second medal of the games.
Lu bagged the bronze with a score of 226.8, while China’s shooter Yang Haoran defended his Asian Games title with a score of 249.1, followed by Indian shooter Deepak Kumar, who finished with a total score of 247.7.
Taiwan’s Chiang Sheng-shan yesterday won a silver medal in the men’s mountain bike downhill final.
Chiang bagged the silver with a time of 2 minutes, 18.184 seconds, behind Indonesia’s gold-medal winner Khoiful Mukhib by just 1.497 seconds. Chiang was placed fourth in the preliminary round, with 2:22.442 to advance to the final.
Despite the presence of world No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying, Taiwan were ousted by Thailand in the quarter-finals of the women’s badminton event.
Thailand topped Taiwan 3-0 in the women’s team competition, which features a best-of-five format, with three singles and two doubles matches.
Tai and her old nemesis Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand battled for the first point, and Tai seemed poised to seize the first game in their match by taking a 19-17 lead. However, the Thai rallied to take the game 22-20. Although she lost a tight second game, she blew past Tai in the third game to win 22-20, 19-21, 21-13.
Taiwan’s first doubles team, Wu Ti-jung and Hsu Ya-ching, then lost the second point to their Thai opponents in another tight match 22-20, 19-21, 21-13. In the second singles match, world No. 11 Nitchaon Jindapol overcame Taiwan’s Pai Yu-po 21-18, 21-16 to complete the 3-0 whitewash.
In men’s basketball yesterday, Taiwan netted 16 three-pointers on the way to thrashing Hong Kong 98-67.
Taiwan’s women’s softball squad lost to Japan 3-1 in their morning game.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely