Taiwan’s top female tennis player, Hsieh Su-wei, might face a fine if her application to withdraw from the Rio Olympics was not submitted on time by Taiwan’s Olympic Committee, her brother said yesterday.
In a post on Facebook late on Friday (Brazil time), Hsieh said she had returned the key to her room in the Olympic village to the headquarters of Taiwan’s Olympic Committee and had submitted an application to withdraw from the women’s singles and doubles tennis competition.
However, she said that she had not yet received an acknowledgement of her application from the organizing committee for the Rio Olympics.
Photo: EPA
Commenting on the post, Hsieh’s younger brother said that if Taiwan’s Olympic Committee refused to file Hsieh’s application with the organizing committee for the Rio Olympics, she would be forced to pay a fine for defaulting on the Games.
Hsieh’s latest post on the issue came amid efforts by Taiwanese government officials to convince her not to withdraw from the Rio Olympics after a spat with the vice head of the Taiwanese delegation to the Games.
Premier Lin Chuan yesterday said that Taiwanese sports officials have been contacting Hsieh’s family at home to help convince her not to withdraw from the Rio Olympics.
As part of the government’s efforts, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung, Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC) president Lin Hong-dow and other sports officials met in Rio with Hsieh’s elder brother, Tommy Hsieh, to discuss the issue and ask him to help convince his sister to change her mind.
However, Tommy Hsieh said in a Facebook post that while he appreciated the efforts and goodwill of the officials, his sister would maintain her decision.
On Thursday, Hsieh Su-wei announced in a Facebook post that she was pulling out of the Summer Olympics tennis competition over a row with the country’s governing sports body.
“As of today, I’m retired from tennis in Taiwan, and I will never be drafted to be a player on the national team again,” the 30-year-old said.
The issue arose after Tsai Szu-chueh, deputy leader of the delegation and vice chairman of the CTOC, urged Hsieh Su-wei to focus on the preparations for the competition in Rio and “put national honor above everything else,” according to the CTOC.
According to a statement issued by the Taiwanese delegation in Rio, Hsieh protested to Tsai that she had not been “raised” by the state and, as a professional tennis player, she was in the sport only for her fans.
Taiwanese media have reported that there was bad blood between Tsai and Hsieh because Taiwanese sports officials decided not to give her brother a berth on the Taiwanese delegation as her coach.
In her Facebook post, Hsieh Su-wei said she was berated by Tsai when she tried to talk with him about the CTOC’s sports policies and he banged on the table and shouted at her.
Hsieh, who won the 2013 Wimbledon and 2014 French Open doubles championships with her Chinese partner Peng Shuai, said her decision to withdraw from the Olympic Games was supported by her father, who praised her for having the guts to “protest an unfair system and stand up to a haughty sports official.”
In related developments, Hsieh’s doubles partner, Chuan Chia-jung, wrote on Facebook that she will feel very bad and will leave with regrets if Hsieh does decide to quit, because she had trained hard and was looking forward to fighting along side Hsieh for a medal in Rio.
Chuan also apologized for using a profanity on Friday, when she expressed her anger by saying that Hsieh should have informed her earlier about her intention to quit so Chuan could have time to find another partner.
“I will not give up any chance to compete in the Olympics, that is why I am in Rio now. Despite the current situation, I still remain hopeful, because I have a mission to fulfill. If I cannot play in the Olympic tennis event this time, I will be despondent and have regrets,” Chuan wrote.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan
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