Taipei Times
Date: Mar 15, 2020
By: Grant Dexter and Chris Walshe / Staff reporter, with contributing reporter

The Taiwan Celts Gaelic football club celebrated its 25th anniversary yesterday with the Derek Brady Memorial Cup tournament in New Taipei City’s Yonghe District.

More than 100 people participated in men’s and ladies’ tournaments in light rain on St Patrick’s Day.

The club was started by a group of Irish university graduates in 1995 based on “a sense of adventure in their new home and a sense of pride in the culture of the one left behind,” the club said.

It was the first Gaelic football club in Asia, starting with pick-up games at parks in Taipei before reaching out to other expat groups across Asia. A year later, the first Asian finals were held in Manila.    [FULL  STORY]

The 2020 Olympics will feature a record five weight divisions for female Olympic boxers

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/10
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Four female Taiwanese boxers have qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics boxing tournament, bringing the number of Taiwanese qualified for the upcoming Olympics to 31, Liberty Times reported on Tuesday (March 10).

Huang Xiao-wen (黃筱雯) defeated Uzbek boxer Rakhimova Tursunoy four to one in the 51 kg division at the 2020 Asia & Oceania Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament on Monday, ushering her into the semifinals and becoming Taiwan’s third qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 boxing tournament, the report said.

Later on Monday, Wu Shi-yi (吳詩儀) defeated Filipino boxer Riza Pasuit five to zero in the 60 kg division, winning her the first Olympic ticket, according to the report.

Two other Taiwanese female boxers who have qualified for Tokyo 2020 boxing are Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) and Chen Nien-chin (陳念琴). Lin won bronze at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and gold at the 2018 World Boxing Championships, per the report. Chen participated in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics and won gold at the 2018 World Boxing Championships.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 03/10/2020
By: Lung Po-an and Ko Lin

Taipei, March 10 (CNA) Taiwanese boxers Huang Hsiao-wen (黃筱雯) and Wu Shih-yi (吳詩儀) advanced to the semifinals of the Asia/Oceania Olympic Boxing Qualification event in Jordan on Monday, thereby earning places in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Huang, the gold medalist in last year's Women's World Boxing Championships, defeated Rakhimova Tursunoy of Uzbekistan 4-1 in the women's flyweight (48-51kg) category in a bout at Prince Hamzah Sport Hall in Amman.

Meanwhile, competing in the women's lightweight (57-60gk) category, Wu overpowered Pasuit Riza of the Philippines 5-0 to also advance to the semifinals.    [FULL  STORY]

Hsieh and Strycova dominated the doubles court in February, winning back-to-back titles at Dubai and Qatar

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/09
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Hsieh Su-wei (left) and her doubles partner Barbora Strycova pose after winnng Doha. (Barbora Strycova's Instagram photo) …

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After three doubles victories this season, Taiwan’s tennis great Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) returned to the top spot of the WTA doubles rankings and earned herself and her doubles partner, Barbora Strycova, the honor of “February 2020 Doubles Team of the Month.”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 03/09/2020
By: Lung Po-an and Ko Lin

Taipei, March 9 (CNA) Taiwanese boxer Chen Nien-chin (陳念琴) on Sunday advanced to the semifinals of the Asia/Oceania Olympic Boxing Qualification event in Jordan, thereby earning a place in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The 22-year old from Hualien, who is competing in the women's welterweight (64-69kg) category, demolished Shinetsetseg Uranbileg of Mongolia 5-0 in a match at Prince Hamzah Sport Hall in Amman.

Chen, ranked World No. 1 in her division by the International Boxing Association (AIBA), is the first Taiwanese to secure a berth in the Tokyo Olympics boxing tournament.
[FULL  STORY]

No new date set for annual 'vertical marathon' as race up Taiwan landmark canceled

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/06
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The global outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) has persuaded Taipei 101 to postpone its annual Run Up race, reports said Friday (March 6).

Since 2005, each year on one day in May, thousands of athletes from dozens of countries participate in the arduous “vertical marathon.” They typically run and climb 2,046 steps up to the iconic building’s 91st floor.

However, concerns about possible mass infections led Taipei 101 to announce Friday that this year’s edition would not take place in May. A new date has yet to be determined, CNA reported.
[FULL  STORY]

MIDDLE EAST SWEEP: The title victory saw the Taiwanese-Czech duo become only the second partnership to win in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Doha since 2012

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 01, 2020
By: Dave Carroll  /  Staff reporter

Hsieh Su-wei and Barbora Strycova on Friday claimed their third doubles title of the season at

the Qatar Open, a victory that is to see the Taiwanese reclaim the world No. 1 spot when the new rankings are released tomorrow.

The top seeds battled to a 6-2, 5-7, 10-2 victory over sixth seeds Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in 1 hour, 30 minutes at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.

The Taiwanese-Czech pairing saved 11 of 15 break points and converted five of 13, winning 71 percent of their points on second return to complete a rare Middle East sweep, becoming only the second partnership to win in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Doha since Americans Lisa Raymond and Liezel Huber in 2012.

“It’s not easy to always travel from Dubai, then here. You know, we play also singles, so it’s a lot of matches, but also it’s tough mentally and physically,” Strycova told the WTA Web site.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 02/27/2020
By: Huang Chiao-wen and Ko Lin

Taipei, Feb. 27 (CNA) The Tour de Taiwan will be held March 1-5 as scheduled despite the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, featuring 17 professional teams from Taiwan and around the world, the Chinese Taipei Cycling Association announced Thursday.

Lee Kai-chih (李開志), secretary-general of the association, said the competition will consist of five stages, each taking place in different cities and counties across Taiwan.

Taiwanese Feng Chun-kai (馮俊凱) will head a team that includes Peng Yuan-tang (彭源堂), Lu Shao-hsuan (盧紹軒), Su Yu-ming (蘇宇銘) and Wu Chih-hao (吳之皓), Lee said.

Feng, a veteran cyclist, secured a spot in the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics Cycling Road Race after finishing third in the Asian Road Cycling Championships in Uzbekistan last April, which was an authorized Olympic Qualifying Race.   [FULL  STORY]