Fu wins Taiwan’s first Asian Games high jump title in 60 years

Taiwan’s Fu Chao-hsuan (傅兆玄) won gold in the men’s high jump at the Asian Games in Nagoya on Sunday, becoming the first Taiwanese man in 60 years to win an Asian Games athletics title.

The 23-year-old high jumper cleared 2.25 meters in the final, matching his season best and securing Taiwan’s third gold medal at the Asian Games.

The victory marked Taiwan’s first medal in the men’s high jump at the Asian Games since Liao Hsueh-sung (廖學松) won bronze in 1990.

Taiwanese high jumper Fu Chao-hsuan competes in the men’s high jump final during the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, yesterday.

Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times

It was also Taiwan’s first Asian Games gold medal in a men’s athletics event since Wu Ah-min (吳阿民) won the decathlon in 1966.

Separately, starter Lin Yu-min (林昱珉) yesterday pitched eight scoreless innings as Taiwan beat China 5-1 to secure the bronze medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

The victory at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium was Taiwan’s 10th consecutive win over China in Asian Games baseball, and their fourth bronze medal in the sport at the Asian Games since it was officially added at the 1994 Games in Hiroshima, Japan.

Taiwan’s national team celebrate beating China 5-1 in the bronze medal game of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium in Okazaki, Japan, yesterday.

Photo: CNA

Taiwan won gold in 2006 and four silver medals, including at the most recent Games in Hangzhou, China, in 2023. They also won in a demonstration tournament at the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing.

Lin, a left-hander in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ farm system, struck out 10 Chinese batters, while allowing just one hit and one walk over eight dominant innings.

Taiwan led 2-0 through the first six innings, with Yang Po-hsiang (陽柏翔) hitting a timely two-run triple in the second. China kept Taiwan’s bats quiet from the third through sixth innings, stranding five runners.

Taiwanese starter Lin Yu-min pitches during their bronze medal game against China at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium in Okazaki, Japan, yesterday.

Photo: CNA

Taiwan broke through in the seventh inning, when Chen Min-shih (陳敏賜) hit a two-run double to extend their lead to 4-0. Kao Yu-wei (高育瑋) followed with another RBI double to give Taiwan a comfortable 5-0 lead.

However, in the top of the ninth inning, Chinese catcher Luan Chenchen (欒臣臣) hit an RBI single off Taiwan reliever Wang Cheng-hao (王政浩), denying Taiwan a shutout.

Taiwan finished with 13 hits, while China had three.

Last night in the final, South Korea defeated Japan 3-1.

South Korea have won a record seven gold medals in baseball at the Asian Games, followed by Taiwan and Japan with one each.

During the Taiwan-Japan baseball super round the previous day, signs posted at the stadium entrance prohibited the display of Republic of China (Taiwan) flags and Japan’s Rising Sun flags.

The ban followed an incident on Friday during Taiwan’s game against China, when a staffer demanded a spectator put away a cloth that read “Taiwan,” saying the competition bans political messages.

Saturday’s ban drew backlash from Taiwanese fans, with significant criticism also surfacing on Japanese social media.

Ahead of yesterday’s bronze-medal game between Taiwan and China, the signs had been removed from the venue.

Under regulations governing past Asian Games and Olympic Games, “spectators may only bring flags or related items representing the country of the athletes competing. Other items, including those carrying political messages or deemed to violate public order, are not permitted inside the venue.”