Athlete/politician Tang Shang-chieh wins gold for Taiwan in 400 meter freestyle race at the Paris Gay Games

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/08/06
By: Renée Salmonsen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese athlete Tang Shang-chieh (唐聖捷) has so far snagged two medals at the Paris 2018 Gay Games.

Tang was awarded the gold medal in the “25-29 year-old 400 meter freestyle” race and took home silver in the “25-29 year-old 100 meter medley” race, according to Tang’s Facebook.

Tang’s victories are made even sweeter since he has not competed in a long time. During his peak years of competition, the 400 meter freestyle was Tang’s strongest event where he previously broke the record for best time in the event within Taiwan.

One race remains for the young athlete, the “25-29 year-old 50 meter freestyle” on Aug. 7.

“I’m very happy to win the first gold medal for Taiwan at this year’s Gay Games. In addition to the happiness and emotion of winning the medal however I’m ecstatic to have an opportunity to present Taiwan to the world,” Tang commentedon his win, according to LTN.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/06
By: Lee Chin-wei and Hsu Hsiao-ling

Taipei, Aug. 6 (CNA) Two Taiwanese took the top spots in the King of Fighters XIV

competition Sunday at the 2018 Evolution Championship Series (EVO) in Las Vegas.

Taiwanese Lin Chia-hung (林家弘) and Tseng Chia-chen (曾家鎮) faced off for the KOF XIV crown, and Lin, nicknamed “ET,” defeated Tseng, nicknamed “evil,” 2-1 to successfully defend his 2017 KOF XIV title.

In the semifinal Friday, Lin defeated an opponent named “Kid” from China 2-1 while Tseng, the EVO Japan 2018 champion, had to get past gamers from Mexico and China to get a berth in the title showdown.

Founded in 1996, the EVO is one of the gaming world’s most prestigious fighting game tournaments.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/08/06
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Taiwan’s Latisha Chan and her Czech partner Kveta Peschke

won the doubles title at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, CA, USA on Sunday, pocketing her first title for this season after playing only two matches in the event.

Chan and Peschke beat Ukrainian twin sisters Lyudmyla Kichenok and Kveta Peschke in the final, 6-4, 6-1.

As a seeded team, Chan and Peschke played from the second round, which they also won in straight sets, and was propelled into the final after their semifinal opponents withdrew from the competition.

Chan said in her Facebook, “A great week here at Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, was a lot of fun to play here, we enjoyed all the support out there! Thanks to Kveta for playing with me, even this is the only tournament we play together, but still very happy with the title.”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/06
By: Huang Chiao-wen and Evelyn Kao 

Taipei, Aug. 6 (CNA) The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association and Taichung City government are set to sign a contract Tuesday to hold a preliminary round of the WBSC Premier 12 Asia/Oceania tournament in Taiwan in November 2019.

The 2019 WBSC Premier 12 is a qualifying tournament for the Olympic baseball event at Tokyo 2020.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, baseball and softball make a return for the first time in 12 years. The 2019 WBSC Premier 12 will see the top 12 nations in the final 2018 Baseball World Rankings compete and two Olympic spots will be awarded.

The baseball event at the Tokyo Olympics will include six teams. Japan has a spot in each tournament as the host nation, leaving five available positions and the first two spots will be claimed by the Premier 12 top finishers from the Americas and Asia/Oceania, not including Japan.    [FULL  STORY]

The New York Times
Date: Aug. 5, 2018
By: Steven Lee Myers

TAOYUAN, Taiwan — As the batter steps to the plate, the clamor crescendoes, a rhyming, thumping chant, often tailored to his name.

Cheerleaders prance atop the dugout, accompanied by blaring recorded music or even live drums and brass instruments. Fans wield all manner of noise makers — clappers, pairs of plastic bats, small vuvuzelas — pretty much nonstop for nine innings.

They are not trying to distract from the opposing team’s batter, but to cheer on their own. How any batter manages to concentrate enough in the din to get a hit is anyone’s guess.

“Yi qi an da! Yi qi an da!” (pronounced ee-chi-ahn-dah) goes one of the more general chants, which is, roughly, the way to say, “Let’s get a hit together.”
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/04
By: Edward Tsao and Hsu Hsiao-ling 

Los Alamitos, California, Aug. 3 (CNA) Asia-Pacific Zone champion Taiwan grabbed its first victory at the 2018 Bronco World Series Friday after the team from the Dominican Republic, champion of the Caribbean Zone, forfeited by failing to show for the game.

With the victory, the team from Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, took the first step in defending its 2016 Bronco World Series title.

Although the champion of the Caribbean Zone did not show up, the Taiwanese players, all 11-12 years old, still took fielding drills and posed with fans for photos before leaving the baseball field.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/04
By: Lee Chin-wei and Ko Lin

Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) Taiwanese golfer Teresa Lu (盧曉晴) carded three strokes under par in the second round of the 2018 Ricoh Women’s British Open Friday, occupying the fifth place on the leaderboard with a total of 8-under 136.

Lu, who was tied for third with a 5-under 67 after the first round Thursday, carded five birdies and two bogeys Friday at the major LPGA tournament being held at Royal Lytham and St. Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England, from Aug. 2-5 with a purse of US$3.25 million.

Speaking after the game, Lu said she was satisfied with the result, despite having to play under drizzle on the second day of the tournament.

She said she hopes to perform better in the next two rounds and move up the leaderboard.    [SOURCE]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/04
By Yang Ming-chu and Ko Lin

Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) Taiwanese Go player Kyo Kagen (許家元) has won the Gosei, one of Japan’s seven major titles, after defeating title defender Yuta Iyama 3-0 in a best-of-five match held in Osaka Friday.

Kyo broke the record for winning one of Japan’s seven major titles — Kisei, Meijin, Honinbo, Tengen, Oza, Judan and Gosei — in the shortest period after turning professional.

He clinched the Gosei in just five years and four months after turning professional in 2012, breaking the previous record of six years set by Japanese Atsushi Ida in April 2015, when he won the Judan title.

At the age of 20 years and seven months, Kyo also became the third-youngest player to bag one of the seven major titles.   [SOURCE]

Focus TaIwan
Date: 2018/08/04
By: Ko Lin

Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) Taiwan’s Chen Hung-ling (陳宏麟) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) were

defeated in two straight sets by their Japanese opponents Saturday in the men’s doubles semifinals of the 2018 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships in Nanjing, China.

The Taiwanese pair, ranked 15th in the world, lost 17-21, 10-21 to the 4th-ranked Japanese duo Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda in a game that lasted just 37 minutes.

Chen and Wang were the only Taiwanese to make it to the semifinals this year.

A day earlier, Taiwanese badminton star and world no. 1 Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) was upset in her quarterfinal match by He Bingjiao of China 21-18, 7-21, 21-13, while Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen (周天成) lost in the men’s singles to Shi Yuqi of China, also in the quarterfinals.

The BWF World Championships are being held July 30-Aug. 5 at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre.     [SOURCE]