Taiwanese skaters Shih Pei-yu (施沛妤) and Yang Ho-chen (楊合貞) yesterday finished first and second respectively in the women’s 10,000m speedskating race at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, with Shih bagging the country’s first roller-skating gold at the event.
Skaters earn points each lap for being in first or second, with Shih scoring a total of 21 points and Yang 18.
Shih, 18, is competing in the Asian Games for the first time. Her win took Taiwan’s gold medal tally to six.
Photo: CNA
“It feels like a dream,” she said after the race. “At first I only wanted to get a medal, but it’s amazing that I won gold.”
“I want to thank my parents and the more experienced skaters who encouraged me,” she said.
Taiwan skating coach Wu Chiung-chu (吳炯助) said it was unsurprising that the two had dominated the race, but it was unfortunate that Yang’s performance was affected by injuries.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
“In the last few rounds, she could not feel her feet,” Wu said. “However, it’s great that Taiwanese skaters took gold and silver.”
Yang, 30, was injured during the 2021 World Championships in Colombia, where she fractured her spine and wrist in a fall when her competitors bumped her on the track. Her injuries required emergency surgery.
In tennis, sisters Latisha Chan (詹詠然) and Chan Hao-ching (詹皓晴) claimed the women’s doubles gold with a straight-sets victory over Taiwanese compatriots.
The Chans defeated Lee Ya-hsuan (李亞軒) and Liang En-shuo (梁恩碩) 6-4, 6-3 in 90 minutes.
They said that their first women’s doubles title at the Asian Games was a “significant” feat.
The win was Latisha Chan’s fifth at the quadrennial competition, giving her the most golds of any Taiwanese in the history of the Asian Games.
Liang and Huang Tsung-hao (黃琮豪) later lost in the final of the mixed doubles to Rutuja Bhosale and Rohan Bopanna of India 6-2, 3-6, 4-10.
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