Newly appointed minister for the Sports Affairs Council (SAC) Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡) said in an interview with the Taipei Times yesterday that it is practical for the nation to aim for one gold medal and one silver medal at the Beijing Olympic Games.
“Previously, the nation has aimed for seven gold medals in Olympic Games,” she said, “but those who are familiar with sports affairs know that it is an impossible goal.”
Tai said the council could only hope to provide athletes with sufficient resources for them to compete in the Olympics.
Tai also said that she agreed with the idea of “0.7 gold” proposed by Peng Tai-ling (彭臺臨), director of the council’s sports-for-all department, and said that this is a more practical calculation of the nation’s performance in Olympic Games.
Peng was referring to the performance of taekwondo star Chu Mu-yen (朱木炎), who Peng thought has a 70 percent of the chance of winning the gold medal.
Tai also discussed the relocation of council headquarters to southern Taiwan.
A majority of the council’s staff are now working in Kaohsiung. Only a small number are still working in Taipei, she said.
She said that people in southern Taiwan were entitled to hope that more sports events could be held in their area, but the council needed to evaluate if the move has actually contributed to sports development in the south.
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