Taipei Times
Date: Feb 05, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Three Taiwanese players yesterday made the Japan Women’s Baseball League (JWBL)

after successful tryouts, marking the first time Taiwanese are to play in the league.

Pitcher-infielder Hsieh Yu-ying and outfielder Shen Chia-wen are to play for the Kyoto Flora, while pitcher-outfielder Tseng Chi is to join the Aichi Dione.

“We will do our best to hopefully soon make the starting lineup,” Hsieh told a news briefing in Taipei. “By joining the league, we also hope to encourage others to follow.”

Tseng said the three are aiming to soon become fully integrated into their teams.

“Hopefully, we can blend into the teams as soon as possible,” said Tseng, whose younger brother, Tseng Jen-ho, made his MLB debut in September last year with the Chicago Cubs.
[FULL  STORY]

Four Taiwanese athletes will represent the country in two events 

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/02
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea are set to

officially begin on Feb. 9, and Taiwanese athletes are heading to Korea to prepare.

A delegation will march in the opening ceremony under the Chinese Taipei flag, which will be held by luge sled rider Lian De’an (連德安).

This year the Taiwanese delegation will consist of four athletes and support staff, for a total of thirteen people.

In addition to luge rider Lian De’an, Taiwanese athletes representing the country also include speed skaters Song Qingyang (宋青陽), Huang Yuting (黃郁婷), and Dai Weilin (戴瑋麟), according to the Chinese Taipei Olympic committeewebpage.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/02
By: Charles Kang and Romulo Huang

New Delhi, Feb. 2 (CNA) Taiwanese badminton player Chou Tien-chen (周天成) has advanced to the semifinals of the 2018 India Open after a straightforward victory over Sai Praneeth of the host country Friday.

Chou, ranked seventh in the world and seeded third in the India Open, topped eighth seed and world No. 17 Praneeth 21-15, 21-13 to set up a semifinal encounter Saturday with unseeded Qiao Bin of China.

Chou and Praneeth were locked in a tight battle in the first game, with the Indian tying up the score at 14 after winning three straight points.

But the Taiwanese pulled away by taking seven of the game’s last eight points.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 03, 2018
By: Dave Carroll  /  Staff reporter

Taiwanese duo Chang Kai-chen and Chuang Chia-jung yesterday rallied from a set down to

stun the third seeds and advance to the semi-finals of the doubles at the Taiwan Open, while Kateryna Kozlova upset the fifth seed in the singles.

Chang and Chuang defeated Ukrainian twins Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok 2-6, 6-4, 11-9 in 1 hour, 24 minutes at the Heping Sports Complex in Taipei.

The Taiwanese duo saved four of nine break points and converted four of eight to advance to the semi-finals, despite five double faults.

The Taiwanese pairing face a semi-final today against Chinese duo Duan Yingying and Wang Yafan, who overcame Priscilla Hon of Australia and Dalila Jakupovic of Slovenia 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 late on Thursday night.

Today’s other semi-final sees top seeds Timea Babos of Hungary and Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan take on Nao Hibino of Japan and Oksana Kalashnikova of Georgia.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 02, 2018
By: Dave Carroll  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Timea Babos of Hungary yesterday cruised into the semi-

finals of the doubles at the Taiwan Open after Babos had to battle for more than two hours before booking a spot in the quarter-finals of the singles at the Heping Sports Complex in Taipei.

The top seeds took just 61 minutes to see off the challenge of Japanese duo Eri Hozumi and Junri Namigata 6-1, 6-4.

The Taiwanese-Hungarian pairing saved two of four break points and converted five of nine, winning 58 of the 100 points contested as Chan kept her bid to retain the title she won last year with elder sister Latisha Chan firmly on track.

The top seeds are to face Nao Hibino and Oksana Kalashnikova in tomorrow’s semi-final after the Japanese-Georgian pairing defeated Cornelia Lister of Sweden and Arina Rodionova of Australia 6-2, 6-2 in 63 minutes in the earlier quarter-final.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 31, 2018
By: Dave Carroll  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the doubles at the

Taiwan Open in Taipei, while Chinese top seed Peng Shuai crashed out of the first round of the singles.

Top seeds Chan and Timea Babos had to rally from a set down against Anna Blinkova of Russia and Magda Linette of Poland to complete a 3-6, 6-0, 10-5 victory in 68 minutes at the Heping Sports Complex.

The Taiwanese-Hungarian duo saved six of nine break points and converted four of nine, winning 58 of the 106 points contested.

Chan is defending the title she won at the Taipei Arena last year with elder sister Latisha Chan, while Babos is playing her first tournament since winning the doubles at the Australian Open last week alongside Kristina Mladenovic.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 01, 2018
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan have made adjustments to their lineup and tactics to start the Asian Football

Confederation Futsal Championship today, with Brazilian head coach Adil Amarante yesterday saying that he is confident of getting the best out of a team motivated by home crowd support.

Amarante has led Taiwan in training and friendlies in Japan last month, with preparations intensifying over the past week at New Taipei City’s Tamkang University.

There were concerns following an injury to experienced captain Chang Chien-ying during training in Japan, but Amarante has made adjustments to the lineup and drilled players on the new formation and tactics.

Chang was a key player in the original plan and it is unfortunate he will be sidelined, but “we have a group of young players, and the rest of the team will step up to make the difference,” Amarante said at a news conference for the start of the event. “The fact that we are playing at home will be a strong motivation.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 01, 2018
By: Dave Carroll  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan’s Chang Kai-chen had a mixed day at the Heping Sports Complex in Taipei

yesterday as she crashed out of the second round of singles, before returning to book a spot in the quarter-finals of the doubles at the Taiwan Open.

In the second round of the singles, world No. 273 Chang fell to a 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) loss to fifth seed Yulia Putintseva in 1 hour, 46 minutes, despite rallying from 5-1 down in the second set to force a tiebreak.

Chang saved 12 of 17 break points, but it was not enough as the Kazakh world No. 51 advanced to a quarter-final against Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine, who rallied from a set down to defeat China’s Duan Yingying 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4).

Chang then found herself a set down in the doubles alongside fellow Taiwanese Chuang Chia-jung and had to fight back once again, finally edging Peangtarn Plipuech of Thailand and Prarthana Thombare of India 2-6, 6-3, 10-2 in 68 minutes.
[FULL  STORY]