Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/02
By: Long Po-an and Emerson Lim

Taipei, April 2 (CNA) Taiwan badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) advanced to the round

of 16 at the 2019 Malaysia Open Tuesday after an easy win against Deng Joy Xuan (鄧旋) of Hong Kong.

Tai, who is seeking a 3-peat in the women’s singles and her 4th championship trophy at the Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur, beat Deng in two straight sets, 21-14, 21-13, in only 27 minutes.

It was the first time Tai and Deng had played each other. World No. 1 Tai easily pulled away in the first set with a 7-2 run after 3 score tie, before taking an early 9-1 lead in the second set, after which she never looked back.

The tournament, which carries a total purse of US$700,000, is the first of five Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 750 events this year.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/03/29
By:  Associated Press

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A campaign is underway in Taiwan to provide widespread access to affordable fitness facilities and bolster public interest in sport.

Taiwan Today reported, in recent decades, the Sports Administration under the Ministry of Education has worked with local governments around Taiwan on the development of modern, well-equipped community gymnasiums. Since 2003, a large-scale multidisciplinary sports center has been built in each of Taipei City’s 12 districts.

The quality of these facilities was a major factor in Taipei’s shortlisting for the 2018 World Capital of Sport by Brussels-based European Capitals and Cities of Sport Federation. Inspired by this achievement, other municipalities have followed suit, with 24 civic sports centers either constructed or in various stages of completion nationwide.

Private investment is also pouring into Taiwan’s fitness industry. Figures from the Fiscal Information Agency under the Ministry of Finance reveal that the number of nongovernment-owned gyms rose to 369 in 2017 from 149 in 2013, while sector revenues increased by about 160 percent to NT$7.87 billion (US$255.5 million) over the same period.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/29
By: Yang Chih-fang, Chiu Chun-chin and Elizabeth Hsu 

Taipei, March 29 (CNA) Former member of the national taewondo team Chuang Chia-chia (莊佳佳), who has been suspended from competition for two years since October 2017 following a controversy over missed doping tests, on Friday blamed her ban on “administrative negligence.”

The names of Universiade gold medalist Chuang, 29, and Asian Games gold medalist Huang Yun-wen (黃韻文), 24, also a taekwondo athlete, made local headlines a day after the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC) published a list of Taiwanese athletes prohibited from competition due to failed doping tests at the request of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Chuang got a two-year ban from Oct. 3, 2017, which she said Friday was not related to doping but rather her failure to show up for doping test three times.

At a press conference, Chuang, who now serves as head of the Taoyuan Department of Sports, said she had not been informed that she was being sought by the WADA, or that she was supposed to have recorded her whereabouts online by herself, until after she failed to show up for two separate tests in the first seven months of 2017.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/28
By: Liu Lee-jung and Evelyn Kao 

Taipei, March 28 (CNA) Registration for the 2019 Taipei 101 Run Up race is set to open Friday and close on April 8 or earlier if the maximum number of entries is met, organizers said Thursday.

Now in its 15th year, the run-up event will be held on May 4, according to the organizers.

To finish the race, participants must climb 2,046 stairs, or 390 meters, to the 91st floor of the tallest building in Taiwan.

This year, the race will be divided into three categories — Elite, Individual, and Corporate Team.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/28
By Lung Po-an and Ko Lin

Taipei, March 28 (CNA) The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC) on Thursday

made public a list of Taiwanese athletes currently suspended from competition due to failed doping tests.

The list includes 11 athletes from different disciplines ranging from powerlifting to weightlifting and bodybuilding, according to the CTOC.

One of the most notable names is that of two-time Olympic gold medalist women’s weightlifter Hsu Shu-ching (許淑淨), who has been banned for three years since January 2018 after testing positive for a prohibited substance in late 2017.

Her ban was only revealed after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) earlier this month asked the CTOC to make public the list of Taiwanese athletes currently banned from competition due to failed drug tests.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/27
By: Lung Po-an and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, March 27 (CNA) Two time Olympic gold medalist weightlifter Hsu Shu-ching (許淑

淨) of Taiwan has been banned for three years from international competition since January 2018 after she tested positive for a prohibited substance in late 2017, the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC) confirmed Wednesday, saying it had not made the decision public until now out of respect for the athlete’s privacy.

Hsu, 27, has failed doping tests carried out by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which has requested that she return the silver medal she won at the World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, California in December 2017, according to the CTOC.

It said Hsu has already returned the medal and has resigned from her post as a coach at the National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung, in keeping with the WADA’s requests.

The WADA has also asked the CTOC to publish a list of all the Taiwanese athletes who are currently banned from international competition due to failed drug tests, the committee said, adding that it received a letter to that effect on March 6.
[FULL  STORY]

NO EXCUSES: The Taiwanese, whose world ranking is to rise next week, credited her opponent for rallying and said that she let up a bit because of her big lead

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 28, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA and AP

Hsieh Su-wei’s dramatic run at the Miami Open came to an end on Tuesday, when former

practice partner Anett Kontaveit of Estonia pulled back from a 4-0 deficit in the final set to snatch a quarter-final victory over the Taiwanese veteran.

Hsieh was knocked out by 23-year-old Kontaveit 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 in two hours in the Premier Mandatory event and felt she might have let up because of her big advantage in the final set.

“Sometimes when you’re leading by a lot, you get a little bit relaxed and you don’t hit the ball as hard as you were before,” the WTA Web site quoted her as saying.

The match reminded Hsieh of her tussle with Japan’s Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open, when she was up a set and 4-2, 40-0 before letting the match get away from her.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 26 March, 2019
By: Paula Chao

Taiwan’s first female baseball umpire, Liu Po-chun, has been recognized by the

International Olympic Committee. Liu’s “staunch advocacy for female empowerment through sport” has won her an award.

At an awards ceremony held Tuesday at the UN headquarters in New York, Taiwan’s first female baseball umpire, Liu Po-chun, received the Women and Sport Award from the International Olympic Committee.

Liu gave an unscripted acceptance speech in English. “I believe you all understand how difficult it is for women to take a leader position. We cannot just be good, we have to be much better,” said Liu.    [FULL  STORY]