Taiwan’s Lo Chia-ling yesterday clinched the nation’s second medal at the Tokyo Olympics, grabbing a bronze medal in taekwondo in the women’s 57kg class.
Nineteen-year-old Lo beat Niger’s Tekiath Ben Yessouf 10-6 at Tokyo’s Makuhari Messe convention center.
Lo, who is making her first appearance in the Olympic Games, worked her way to the bronze medal contest with an early 20-18 win against South Korea’s Lee Ah-reum in the round of 16, before dropping Canada’s Skylar Park 18-7 in the quarter-final.
Photo: EPA-EFE
It was Anastasija Zolotic of the US who denied the former World Taekwondo Junior Championship gold medalist a chance to fight for an Olympic gold. Zolotic handily won the in the semi-final bout 28-5.
Zolotic went on to secure the gold after defeating Russia’s Tatiana Minina 17-25.
The other bronze for the women’s 57kg class went to Turkey’s Hatice Kubra Ilgun, who downed Iranian defector Kimia Alizadeh 8-6.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Alizadeh — who won bronze in Rio de Janeiro for Iran, but was this year vying for the Refugee Olympic Team’s first-ever medal — earlier shocked two-time Olympic gold medalist Jade Jones in the round of 16, beating the British champion 16-12.
Taiwan’s other medalist, Yang Yung-wei, who took home silver in the men’s 60kg judo on Saturday, yesterday posted a video thanking his fans for their support, adding that he would target gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
In the 36-second clip, Yang thanked people for watching his match and cheering him on, saying that he was happy to win Taiwan’s first medal at the Olympics.
Yang said he was a little disappointed because he felt before the match that he had a chance for the gold.
The 23-year-old fell to Naohisa Takato of Japan in the final on Saturday. His second-place finish earned Taiwan its first-ever medal in an Olympic judo competition.
“I think [the loss] will keep me more motivated for the Paris Olympics,” he said.
Yang, who is Paiwan, grew up in a “judo family” in Taichung, with a mother and two brothers who also practice the sport. He started learning judo in the third grade.
His former coach at Shin Min High School, Lin Shih-hsuan, said that Yang was a disciplined and dedicated student who was unafraid of challenges.
Yang was forbidden from having a girlfriend at high school, so he could focus on the sport, Lin said.
Neighbors and friends in Taichung have also been strong supporters.
When Yang was 17, the ward where he lived raised NT$60,000 so he could travel to compete in Lebanon.
To pay it forward, Yang has stayed in touch with his high school, and last summer shared his experiences with judo students there.
He is to talk to the judo students again after the Olympics, the school said.
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen said that residents are to discuss a proposal to name a new road in the city Yung-wei Road.
Additional reporting by AP
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
Dale Earnhardt Jr might already be NASCAR’s most popular crew chief. He is certainly an undefeated one. Pressed into unexpected service, Earnhardt on Saturday called the shots for 18-year-old prospect Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 Chevrolet, as they landed in victory lane in the second-tier Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway. “It felt good to have some input and decisionmaking power,” Earnhardt said. “And then helping Connor understand what our plan was so he knew when to push and what he was expected to do.” Earnhardt — who won NASCAR’s most-popular driver award 15 times — made a pit stop from his
RSS