Taiwan Today

Taiwan athletes displayed their prowess Sept. 8 at the 21st Summer Deaflympics Taipei 2009, picking up three more gold, three silver and three bronze medals on the third day of the games. Winning medals in sprint orienteering, karate, bowling, pole vault and judo competitions, Taiwan moved into second place in the overall standings, trailing only Russia. The host nation’s medal haul stands at five golds, five silvers and four bronzes. Kuo Chia-mi grabbed Taiwan’s first gold of the day, winning the women’s sprint orienteering competition with a time of 17:22. It marked Kuo’s first gold in four trips to the Deaflympics. Compatriot Yin Lun-hung followed soon afterward with a silver medal performance in the men’s sprint orienteering event, finishing the course with a time of 14:46. Taiwan’s second gold medal came in karate, with Lu Ching-feng winning the men’s under-84 kilogram event by default. Lu, who also garnered gold at the world deaf karate championships in Toulouse, France last year, won the Deaflympics event without a fight as the other semifinalists were disqualified. In fact, Lu only had to defeat one opponent, Italy’s Manuel Tocchini, to be crowned champion in the tournament. Meanwhile, compatriot Lin Wen-fang took home the silver medal in the women’s under-68 kilogram karate event. Chang Yao-chien earned Taiwan’s third gold of the day in women’s bowling singles, with an overall score of 1,134. Her teammate Lin Hsiang-tzu grabbed the bronze in the same event. In the men’s pole vault competition, An Ching-lung added a silver for Taiwan. His vault of 4.55 meters marked a personal best. An won Taiwan’s first ever Deaflympics gold medal at the decathlon event of the 2001 games in Rome, Italy. Rounding out Taiwan’s medal haul for the day were Yen Kuo-cheng and Hsu Wei-lun, scoring bronzes in the men’s taekwondo under-80 kilogram and men’s judo under-60 kilogram competitions, respectively. Looking ahead to Sept. 8, Taiwan athletes are aiming to add to the host nation’s medal count in track and field, orienteering middle distance, bowling and table tennis events. (SB)