Sports

Two Taiwanese to face off in German Open badminton final

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/05
By: Oscar Wu and Romulo Huang

Taipei, March 5 (CNA) The final of the men’s singles at the Yonex German Open 2017

(CNA file photo)

will see two Taiwanese competing against each other for the title Sunday, after they each won their semifinal games Saturday.

Chou Tien-chen (周天成), Taiwan’s top player and No. 6 seed at the tournament, scored an easy win over Japanese Takuma Ueda in two straight games, 21-17 and 21-11, in the semifinals.

In the final Sunday, Chou will come up against his compatriot Wang Tzu-wei (王子維), who defeated Chinese Olympic gold medalist Chen Long 21-18, 8-21, 21-18 in an upset semifinal.   [FULL  STORY]

Kenyan runners win 2017 Tainan Marathon

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/05
By: Chang Jung-hsiang and Kuo Chung-han

Taipei, March 5 (CNA) Kenyan runner Mbuni Edward Omwoyo won the men’s title in the 2017 Tainan Ancient Capital International Marathon Sunday, while his compatriot Gathingi Hannah Wadera won the women’s category.

The annual race, now in its 11th year, attracted some 13,000 runners, including more than 230 from abroad, the organizers said.

Among the 2,136 runners who signed up for the full 42.195-kilometer race, Omwoyo and Wadera finished with times of 2:26:32 and 2:50:22, respectively, and will be each awarded NT$100,000 (US$3,231.6), the organizers said.

A half marathon event was also held, attracting 5,900 runners, while about 5,000 people participated in a 4-km run.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese weightlifter promoted to 1st place in Beijing Olympics

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/05
By: Oscar Wu and Romulo Huang

Taipei, March 5 (CNA) Taiwanese weightlifter Chen Wei-ling (陳葦綾) has officially been

(CNA file photo)

promoted to the gold medalist position in the 2008 Beijing Olympics after the previous winner Chen Xiexia of China was disqualified, according to the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

Chen Xiexia was disqualified by the Disciplinary Commission of the International Olympic Committee after she was found to have violated the rules against doping in the 2008 Games, the IWF said in a statement on its web site.

Chen Wei-ling won a bronze medal in the women’s 48-kg weightlifting competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a total score of 196 kg, lifting 84 kg in the snatch event and 112 kg in the clean and jerk event.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese weightlifter receives international award

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/04
By: Lee Yu-cheng and Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, March 4 (CNA) Taiwanese weightlifter Hsu Shu-ching (許淑淨) on Saturday received the female Lifter of the Year award for 2015 from the International Weightlifting Federation.

The international federation gave the award to Hsu belatedly because it thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to present it to her at the weightlifting trials for the 2017 Taipei Summer Universiade, according to the Chinese Taipei Weightlifting Association.

Hsu, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, said she was preparing to represent Taiwan in the Universiade in August.   [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan among 16 WBC hopefuls

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 05, 2017
By: AFP, LOS ANGELES

Taiwan get under way on Tuesday at the fourth World Baseball Classic (WBC), which opens in Seoul tomorrow, with Japan seeking a third title, the Dominican Republic hoping to defend the crown and the US wondering how they might ever win.

Elite Major League Baseball talent, with 63 former all-stars including 25 from last season, are to play for their homelands against top global standouts in a 16-team showdown that concludes with a March 22 final at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

“The footprint of baseball as a sport has never been broader around the world,” said Chris Park, Major League Baseball’s senior vice president of growth, strategy and international. “We’re excited to get started. I don’t think you’ve ever seen this many national teams that have a legitimate chance to go far in this tournament.”

Two of four teams advance from first-round pools in Seoul, Tokyo, Miami and Guadalajara, Mexico, into second-round play in Tokyo and San Diego that will determine the four semi-finalists, who are to play on March 20 and March 21 in Los Angeles.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan faces stiff test in WBC first round

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-03-03

Taiwan’s national baseball team faces a tough test in the first round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC).

Four pool stages of this year’s WBC will be hosted in Japan, South Korea, Mexico and the United States. Four teams will contest each pool, with two teams advancing to a second group stage.

Taiwan will play its Pool A games in South Korea. Its first match is against Israel on March 7. The Netherlands are second and a match against hosts Korea will conclude the round robin. At least two wins will be needed to advance.    [FULL  STORY]

CTFA inks deal with publisher Taiwan Tohan

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 04, 2017
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

The national soccer team has added a new sponsor and gained a media outlet for added publicity after signing a deal with Taiwan Tohan Co, which is the publisher of Soccer One, the nation’s only magazine about professional soccer.

Taiwan coach Kazuo Kuroda, Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) chairman Lin Yung-cheng and CTFA secretary-general Chen Wen-jen signed the sponsorship agreement with Taiwan Tohan Co president Yoshiyuki Saiki in Taipei yesterday.

The deal makes Soccer One the official publication of Taiwan’s men’s and women’s soccer teams. The quarterly Chinese-language magazine is to feature analysis and news stories about the teams.

“This is a great stride forward. The magazine will help to promote the game’s development, generate a national passion for soccer and attract more fans to follow the teams. It will make the players feel proud to represent the nation,” Lin said.     [FULL  STORY]

Playoffs to begin at the Changhua Stadium tomorrow

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 03, 2017
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

The Super Basketball League (SBL) playoffs get under way tomorrow, with Taiwan Beer taking on Kinmen Kaoliang and the Fubon Braves to battle Pauian Archiland at the Changhua Stadium in the first games.

The top-ranked Dacin Tigers, with this year’s best record of 21 wins and nine losses, along with the second-placed Yulon Dinos (19-11), have a week of rest before the second round, when they face the first-round series winners.

In tomorrow’s first game, third-placed Taiwan Beer (18-12) face Kinmen Kaoliang (9-21) at 5pm before the Fubon Braves (17-13) play Pauian Archiland (14-16) at 7pm.

“This is the first time in 14 years of SBL history that post-season matches start in central Taiwan. We want to let fans in Changhua and other central regions enjoy the nation’s best players in action,” Chinese Taipei Basketball Association secretary-general Lee Yi-chung said at a news conference yesterday.    [FULL  STORY]

Amway eSpring International Women 9-Ball Championship begins

The China Post
Date: March 2, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The 2017 Amway eSpring International Women 9-Ball Championship

Ahead of the 2017 Amway eSpring International Women 9-Ball Championship, Shirley Chen (陳惠雯), general manager of Amway Taiwan (安麗台灣), poses with participants at a press conference at the Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel on Wednesday, March 1. (Morgan Lin, The China Post)

(安麗益之源盃世界女子花式撞球錦標賽) takes place from March 1 to March 5 at the Taipei Gymnasium (台北體育館).

With Amway Taiwan’s (安麗台灣) support since 1998, the championship is Taiwan’s longest-running international sports tournament that is exclusively sponsored by one firm. Regarded as “spring’s most beautiful battle” with sports stars and their demonstration of skills on the pool table, the four-day event attracts ample attention each year with its high prize money and ranking points awarded.

This time, Taiwan’s team consists of Chieh-Yu Chou (周婕妤) and Yuan-Chun Lin (林沅君), each at second and ninth in the world, and Ho-Yun Chen (陳禾耘), Tzu-Chien Wei (魏子茜), Shin-Mei Liu (柳信美), first-time participant Chia-Hua Chen (陳佳樺) and Yu-Wen Hsieh (謝喻雯).    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese Olympic medalist is confident of getting best results from Taipei Universiade

Kuo reminisced at that very moment; she thought her athletic career was over.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/03/01
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwanese Olympic weightlifting bronze medalist Kuo Hsing-chun (郭婞淳) said in an

Taiwanese Olympic weightlifting bronze medalist Kuo Hsing-chun said that she is confident that she will get best results from Taipei Universiade

interview last week that she is confident that she will get best results from Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade as she has been training for a series of competitions in the lead-up to the big event in August.

Kuo, who also won gold medals of the World Weightlifting Championships and Summer Universiade in Kazan in 2013, told Taipei Broadcasting Station that weightlifting is more than just lifting the barbells as seen on TV as it requires the skill of self assistance to safely lift weight several times the lifter’s body weight.

Kuo, who is a student of Ju Jen Catholic University, said she was in track and field and basketball teams when she was a junior high student, but her coach spotted her explosiveness and suggested that she switch to weightlifting, which turned out to be a good move because she had been getting better weightlifting results than she expected. And that’s how she stumbled into the world of weightlifting, she said. [FULL  STORY]