Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.”
The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital.
After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier legs, Lee, who topped the third leg in Azerbaijan in March, had only one chance left for Paris: win another championship while hoping Nariman Kurbanov of Kazakhstan finished fifth or lower.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan’s gymnastics team
However, as Al Soud topped the competition, Kurbanov secured his spot in Paris.
Lee and his coach said they disagreed with the judges’ scoring.
“The score is definitely unconvincing. Apparently, they intended to set me up to lose. I’m sad for sure, but that is not going to change anything,” Lee told reporters after the final. “This is the most difficult routine I performed this year, and I performed it very smoothly. I would have nothing to say if I screwed it up myself, but that is not the case today.”
The same sentiment was shared by Lee’s coach Lin Yu-hsin, who said it was frustrated that Lee earned the same score as he did in his first round, even though he performed a more difficult routine and performed it better.
“All of those present were shocked to learn that a Kazakhstani gymnast still earned 15.133 despite making a blunder in his dismount,” Lin said.
The first Taiwanese to win an Olympic medal in artistic gymnastics, Lee, 28, vented his frustration as he showed little confidence in vying for an Olympic berth in the individual all-around event, which he does not specialize in, at the upcoming Asian Championships in May.
“It’s taking place in three weeks, but I’m full of wear and tear at my age. How is it possible for me to compete in an all-around event that requires all six categories to be completed in one day?” said Lee, who is still plagued by an injured wrist and a fractured foot.
Approaching the end of his career as a gymnast, Lee said he has devoted “200 percent” to the sport over the past two decades and is “burnt out.”
“I think it’s about time [to retire] if I could not secure my last [Olympic] berth,” he said.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS