Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) has won the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Female Player of the Year award in recognition of her achievements last year and this year, the federation said on Friday.
The federation also named Taiwanese Olympic gold medalist duo Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and Lee Yang (李洋) the Most Improved Player of the Year.
It is the first time Tai has won the award.
Photo: AFP
The period of consideration for the award stretched from November 2019 until the end of October due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years.
Tai lifted the Yonex All England trophy and then made each of the finals at three tournaments in Bangkok in January, before clinching the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals.
The world women’s singles No. 1 also powered her way to the singles final at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, but settled for silver after losing a thrilling match to China’s Chen Yufei (陳雨菲).
She has not competed in any BWF events since the Olympics, which ended in early August.
“It’s a pity I can’t be in Indonesia for the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals,” Tai said. “I really miss competing in Indonesia, which has such enthusiastic fans. I never thought that I could win this award. I’ll continue to compete and try to achieve better results. I hope that fans will continue to support me.”
Tai would be competing in the upcoming BWF World Championships, which is to be held from Sunday next week to Dec. 19 in Spain.
She faces possible showdowns against the in-form Yeo Jia Min (楊佳敏) of Singapore and reigning world champion Pusarla Venkata Sindhu of India.
Wang and Lee were named the Most Improved Player of the Year ahead of Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand, and Malaysians Aaron Chia (謝定峰), Soh Wooi Yik (蘇偉譯) and Lee Zii Jia (李梓嘉).
The duo won Taiwan’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in badminton by winning the men’s doubles at the Tokyo Games, and also clinched the men’s doubles title at the two Super 1000 Thailand Open tournaments in Bangkok in January and the BWF World Tour Finals in the same month.
“I’m really honored to win the BWF Most Improved Player of the Year and I hope that we can continue to improve,” Lee Yang said. “I’d also like to thank my partner as well as the people around us who have been supporting us and wishing us the best.”
“I think this is a great affirmation. It’s an honorable recognition for any athlete to be able to win a BWF award,” he added.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS