Taipei Times
Date: Nov 11, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwanese badminton ace Chou Tien-chen yesterday cruised past his

Chinese opponent to advance to the men’s singles final at the Fuzhou China Open.

World No. 3 Chou defeated fourth seed Shi Yuqi 21-11, 21-10 in a match that lasted just 35 minutes.

Prior to yesterday’s game, Chou had succeeded in beating Shi only once in their past four encounters, at the Asian Games in Indonesia in August.

Shi is ranked second in the world by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/11/09
By: Lung Po-an and Ko Lin

Taipei, Nov. 9 (CNA) Taiwanese table tennis players Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒) on Thursday

successfully navigated the opening round of the men’s singles event at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Platinum Liebherr Austrian Open in Linz.

The 17-year-old Taiwanese outlasted World No. 5 Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany 4-2 (14-12, 10-12, 12-10, 12-10, 7-11, 11-7).

Ovtcharov was previously ranked World No. 1 by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) in January this year.

Speaking after the match, Lin said he felt proud at having defeated such a high ranked player.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/11/08
By: Lung Po-an and Evelyn Kao 

Taipei, Nov. 8 (CNA) Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) remains on top of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) women’s singles rankings for the 100th consecutive week, according to the latest BWF world rankings released Thursday.

The achievement makes her one of the three players to have achieved the BWF’s No. 1 position for more than 100 weeks in a row.

Chinese female shuttler Li Xuerui is the record-holder, earning the BWF’s world No. 1 title for 124 weeks straight, followed by her compatriot Wang Yihan, who has held the top spot for 116 consecutive weeks.

Tai made women’s singles history with a record of 101,667 ranking points in a 52-week period, leading Akane Yamaguchi of Japan by 16,254 points.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/11/07
By: Lung Po-an and Chi Jo-yao

Taipei, Nov. 7 (CNA) Former Department of Sports Commissioner Yang Jong-her (楊忠和)

said Wednesday that a petition calling for a national referendum on whether the national team should compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics under the name “Taiwan” instead of “Chinese Taipei” shall go ahead as planned Nov. 24.

Yang, the referendum convener, said in a national referendum public forum Wednesday that the name Chinese Taipei fails to represent the country and should be changed to Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Cheng said she hopes more high-potential Taiwanese golfers will emerge from their participation in TLPGA tournaments and become shining stars on the international stage

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/11/07
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Taiwan Ladies Professional Golf Association (TLPGA) chairwoman Cheng Mei-Chi (鄭美琦) said on Tuesday that the 2018 Tainan Professional Golf Ladies Open, which will take place in Tainan Nov. 7 through 9, has attracted as many as 99 international players to participate, according to a Chinese-language Liberty Times report.

The golf open will be held at Nan Yi Golf Country Club in the city’s Guanmiao District, and the total purse of event is NT$3 million, according to the TLPGA.

Cheng said the golf open obtained the sponsorship from 26 local enterprises in Tainan, adding that she hopes the championship trophy can be retained in the country, the report said.

Cheng said she hopes more high-potential Taiwanese golfers will emerge through their participation in TLPGA tournaments to one day become shining stars on the international stage, according to the report.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/11/06
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Nov. 6 (CNA) Former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Greg Smith

feels the healthiest he has been in years and is looking forward to leading his new team into the playoffs in the coming Super Basketball League (SBL) season.

Bank of Taiwan, one of the seven teams in the semi-professional SBL, announced last month that it has signed the 27-year-old former NBA center/forward.

The 2.08-meter Smith arrived in Taiwan over the weekend to prepare for preseason games that begin Wednesday before the 16th SBL season kicks off on Nov. 18.

Speaking to CNA in an interview Monday evening, Smith said he is now 100 percent healthy and he is excited for the new season. “I am ready to go all the way.”
[FULL  STORY]

As Lin Tzu-Wei becomes Taiwan’s second ever World Series winner, we profile some of the country’s most famous sporting stars

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/11/05
By: David Spencer, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

KAOHSIUNG (Taiwan News) — Last week was a special one for Taiwanese sports fans. The Boston Red Sox’s victory in the baseball World Series saw Taiwanese player Lin Tzu-Wei (林子偉) become just the second sports star from this country to win a World Series ring.

Alongside basketball, baseball is the national sport, and any Taiwanese player who makes it into Major League Baseball is automatically a household name here. Those that win a World Series are automatically elevated to level of icons.

Taiwan does not have a particular reputation for generating international sports stars. However, if you actually look around, there are quite a number that have made it to the top of their sports and become famous for their achievements both in Taiwan and beyond.

In this article, we are going to highlight a few of Taiwan’s most famous international sporting stars. Have we missed anyone who deserves a place on this list? If so, tell us who you would have included via our Facebook or Twitter pages.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/11/05
By Flor Wang

Taipei, Nov. 5 (CNA) Taiwan weightlifter Kuo Hsing-chung (郭婞淳) snagged one silver

and two gold medals at the 2018 World Weightlifting Championships in Turkmenistan on Sunday.

Kuo, 25, won a gold medal with a snatch lift of 105 kilograms in the women’s 59 kg division then took silver with a clean and jerk of 132 kg.

She then proceeded to win another gold for her total lift 237 kg, which put her gold medal count at six, the highest number for a female weightlifter at the world championships.

In a recent interview, Kuo said that since she moved up from the 58 kg division, she has been able to improve her performance.

Earlier this year, Kuo won a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia and a bronze medal in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.     [SOURCE]

The major Esports tournament is happening at the Kaohsiung Arena Nov. 9 through Nov.

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/11/03
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Southern Taiwan is preparing to host the 2018 World Championship tournament of the International Esports Federation (IeSF) in Kaohsiung from Nov. 9 to Nov. 11.

More than 700 professional gamers along with delegates and industry representatives from over 50 nations will descend on the Kaohsiung Arena for one of the largest Esports competitions on the planet.

Kaohsiung’s acting mayor Hsu Li-ming is quoted by Business Wire as saying:

“We are very excited for the athletes to explore Kaohsiung. November is the most pleasant time of the year here, as it is well-suited for enjoying our beautiful scenery, cultural sites, gourmet seafood, and traditional snacks.”
Hsu hopes that the renowned international gaming event will go a long way towards enhancing Taiwan’s profile in Esports, and highlight the city’s commitment to exploring the innovative possibilities represented by the gaming industry, reports Business Wire.
[FULL  STORY]