Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/29
By: Huang Chiao-wen and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Oct. 29 (CNA) World No. 1 female golfer Ko Jin-young of South Korea and seven other of the world's top 10 female golfers are among the 81 competitors from 10 countries to participate in the 2019 Taiwan Swinging Skirts Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), which kicks off in New Taipei Thursday.

In addition to Ko, British Open Champion Hinako Shibuno of Japan, world No. 2 Park Sung-hyun from South Korea and defending champion Nelly Korda of the U.S. will also compete in the tournament which runs from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 at at Miramar Golf Country Club, according to the Taipei City-based Swinging Skirts Golf Foundation (SSGF).

With a total purse of US$2.2 million, the richest female golf event in Taiwan has gained in popularity since its was founded in 2011, SSGF Chairman Johnson Wang told reporters at a Thursday press event to promote the upcoming tourney.

Wang said the SSGF expects the final day of play to attract more than 50,000 spectators, up from 32,000 in 2018, to set a new Asian LPGA event record, Wang added.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/27
By: Yang Chi-fang and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Oct. 26 (CNA) A full house of 20,810 baseball fans bid farewell Saturday to the Lamigo

Monkeys at the team's Taoyuan home stadium as the seven-time local pro-league champions played their last game before its new Japanese owner changes the team's name next year.

The exhibition game was followed by a farewell event in which Monkey's Chairman Liu Pao-yu (劉保佑) and Liu's son, the Monkeys' General Manager Justin Liu (劉玠廷), together with all members of the team, said goodbye to their fans.

The father and son expressed gratitude for the support of the fans over the past 16 years, which they said is the main reason they continued to run the team, despite the huge costs involved.

Liu Pao-yu said he and his son had been considering selling the team for a very long time but due to their love for baseball and the strong fan support, they decided to hang in there for nearly two decades until eventually announcing in July that they were putting the team up for sale.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 28, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying failed to reach the final of the women’s singles at the Yonex

Internationaux de France de Badminton in Paris on Saturday, losing to Spain’s Carolina Marin, who began the final against An Se-young of South Korea just before press time last night.

Tai was defeated 16-21, 9-21 in 35 minutes in their semi-final.

The loss means that Tai would fall to second place in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings this week, losing her world No. 1 title to Okuhara Nozomi of Japan.

In the first game, the 25-year-old Taiwanese took a 5-1 lead before losing eight consecutive points to her Spanish rival.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/25
By: Wang Shu-fen and Ko Lin

Taipei, Oct. 25 (CNA) Danish cyclist Anthon Charmig won the 2019 Taiwan KOM (King of the

Mountains) Challenge on Friday, finishing the mountainous 105-kilometer course in 3:24:24.

Second place in the men's race went to Australian Benjamin Dyball, who crossed the line in a time of 3:28:16, one minute ahead of third place Pierpaolo Ficara of Italy.

The women's title went to Ashleigh Moolman, who completed the challenge in 3:51:55. She is a professional road cyclist, member of the International Cycling Union (UCI) Women's Team, and competes for CCC Liv of the Netherlands.

Moolman was followed home by Dutch cyclist Marianne Vos, and Kate McIlroy of New Zealand, who finished second and third, respectively.    [FULL  STORY]

Pitcher Liu Chih-Jung becomes 2nd Taiwanese player on Red Sox roster

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/24
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese baseball player Liu Chih-Jung (劉致榮) has signed a US$750,000

contract with the Boston Red Sox to become the 2nd Taiwanese player on the current Red Sox roster after infielder Lin Tzu-Wei (林子偉).

Liu is a 20-year-old pitcher who studies at Chinese Culture University and has represented Taiwan at international competitions such as the 2019 Asian Baseball Championship in which he earned the title of MVP. Liu helped Taiwan clinch gold by completing 2.1 scoreless innings and striking out the last 5 batters he faced, reported Liberty Times.

Liu earned the nickname the "Taiwanese fireball" when he was clocked throwing 158 kph with his fast ball during a university tournament in September. He will represent Taiwan in next month's WBSC Premier12, where he aims to earn the team a ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/20
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Oct. 20 (CNA) Taiwan on Sunday clinched the gold medal in a neck-to-neck championship game at the 2019 Asian Baseball Championship, after beating Japan 5-4 at the tournament held in Taichung.

This marks the first No.1 finish for the national squad, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, in the tournament since 2001.

Taiwan took silver medals in the previous four editions of the event that is held every other year in odd-numbered years since 1983.

Japan took an earlier 1-0 lead in the bottom of the opening inning with a hit, a stolen base and an error. The home team promptly rallied back with a three-run second inning, thanks to a three-run triple by Jhang Jin-de (張進德).    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/22
By: Yu Hsiao-han and Chiang Yi-ching

Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) A total of 730 cyclists from 42 countries are expected to compete in the 2019 Taiwan KOM (King of the Mountains) Challenge set for Oct. 25, organizers said Tuesday.

The Taiwan KOM Challenge, currently in its 8th year, is part of the Taiwan Cycling Festival. It is also considered one of the world's toughest uphill bike races, according to the Tourism Bureau, one of the event organizers.

The 105-kilometer race begins in Qixingtan scenic area on the Pacific coast at sea level, before climbing 87 kilometers through the majestic Taroko Gorge to Wuling at 3,275-meters, near Hehuanshan, the highest point accessible by public road in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

The one-day 105 km race, climbing nearly 11,000 ft, takes place in eastern Taiwan Friday

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/21
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The 2019 Taiwan King of the Mountain (KOM) Challenge will get underway on Friday (Oct. 25), has attracted local and international professional riders to compete.

Established in 2010, the KOM Challenge is a 105 km road race that takes riders from the start at sea level in Hualien, and passes through the Taroko Gorge to finish atop Mount Wuling (武嶺), after traversing Taiwan's highest paved road at 3,275 m (11,000 ft). It is described as one of the most beautiful rides in the world, but also one of the hardest,

According to the Cyclist, there is a steady climb of nearly 1,000 m in the final 10 km, with a road incline of up to 27 percent in certain sections. There will also be traffic control in place on roads around Mount Wuling and the Wuling Pass . Former participants include Tour de France winners Cadel Evans and Vincenzo Nibali, former Olympic silver medalist Emma Pooley, and former World Tour rider Phil Gaimon.

For this year's competition, 730 contestants from 42 different countries have registered to participate, according to the event's website. Taiwanese elite cyclists Liu Shu Ming (劉書銘), Lin Xiao Long (林曉龍) and Chen Xuan-Ye (陳玄曄) will also team up with Tarmo Vannas from Estonia, Madeleine Gustafsson from Sweden and Motohiro Imai (今井基裕) from Japan to form Team DIZO, reports Liberty Times.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/20
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Oct. 20 (CNA) Taiwan on Sunday clinched the gold medal in a neck-to-neck championship game at the 2019 Asian Baseball Championship, after beating Japan 5-4 at the tournament held in Taichung.

This marks the first No.1 finish for the national squad, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, in the tournament since 2001.

Taiwan took silver medals in the previous four editions of the event that is held every other year in odd-numbered years since 1983.

Japan took an earlier 1-0 lead in the bottom of the opening inning with a hit, a stolen base and an error. The home team promptly rallied back with a three-run second inning, thanks to a three-run triple by Jhang Jin-de (張進德).    [FULL  STORY]