Taiwan athletes secured the nation’s highest-ever medal count of one gold, four silvers and two bronzes at the World Bowling Championships Nov. 24 to Dec. 4 in Las Vegas, according to the Ministry of Education.
Leading the way was Wu Hao-ming from northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City, who outperformed 212 other competitors to claim gold in the Men’s All Event category. Wu, who became the second bowler from Taiwan to win the title after Ma Ying-jie in 1991, also claimed silver in the Men’s Singles event.
The country’s other solo medalists were Xu Zhe-jia and Tsai Hsin-yi from Taichung and Kaohsiung cities in central and southern Taiwan, respectively. Xu walked away with silver in the Men’s Masters, becoming the youngest competitor from Taiwan to medal in the category, while Tsai secured bronze in the Women’s All Event.
Taiwan also secured three medals in the team categories. Chen Wu-chi, Wu and Xu earned silver in the Men’s Trios; Chen Chien-ju, Hsieh Chin-liang and the trio took second place in the Men’s Team of Five; and Chou Chia-chen, Pan Yu-fen and Su Shu-wen claimed bronze in the Women’s Trios.
According to the Chinese Taipei Bowling Association, the country’s stellar performance at the championships is the result of robust support from the MOE’s Sports Administration. In particular, the CTBA highlighted the success of an initiative launched in 2013 to cultivate younger bowlers for the Asian Games.
Under the MOE program, Wu is training for the next Asian Games set to take place Aug. 18 to Sept. 2, 2018, in Jakarta, Indonesia. He also represented Taiwan during this year’s Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, winning bronze in men’s singles and gold in the men’s team category.
The WBC is held every four years by U.S.-based World Bowling, which has been recognized by the International Olympic Committee since 1979 as the governing body for bowling sports. This year’s edition saw around 390 players from 42 countries and territories battle it out in six disciplines each for men and women. (SFC-E)
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