Taiwanese bag 2 silvers, bronze at Asian Games

NO REGRETS: Lo Shu-ting of the women’s soft tennis team, who previously said this would be her ‘last dance,’ said she was proud to go home with silver

Chien Hui-hsuan (簡慧萱) yesterday won a bronze medal in the women’s individual kata event in karate, earning Taiwan’s first medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, while Taiwan’s men’s and women’s soft tennis teams each won silver medals.

Chien defeated Iran’s Fatemeh Sadeghi 4-1 in the bronze medal bout to secure her first medal in Asian Games competition.

Chien thanked her friends and family for their support, adding that it was a difficult journey to the Games.

Taiwan’s women’s soft tennis team pose with their silver medals during the award ceremony of the women’s soft tennis team competition at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, yesterday.

Photo: AP

“Even though there were times when a breakthrough was hard to achieve, I pushed through,” she said.

After losing to Sadeghi in a Karate World Championships qualifying event in October last year, Chien switched to a kata she was more familiar with, she said.

That paid off, Chien said, adding that she was glad to have earned recognition from the judges.

From left, silver medalist Grace Lau Mo-sheung of Hong Kong, gold medalist Maho Ono of Japan, and bronze medalists Ngoc Nhi Bui of Vietnam and Taiwan’s Chien Hui-hsuan pose with their medals after the women’s individual kata at the Asian Games in Toyohashi, Japan, yesterday.

Photo: Reuters

Chien, who turns 35 on Sunday, said she was happy to win a medal and hoped the result would encourage Taiwan’s karate team, including two younger members who are to join her in the women’s team kata event tomorrow.

The karate veteran narrowly missed out on a bronze medal at her first Asian Games in 2023, finishing just 0.6 points short.

Over the past six months, she has traveled abroad, often at her own expense, to compete and train, visiting Japan’s Okinawa, Oita and Tottori, as well as Spain, where she trained with Olympic gold medalist Sandra Sanchez, Chien said.

Taiwan’s Chien Hui-hsuan competes against Iran’s Fatemeh Sadeghi Dastak in the women’s individual kata bronze medal bout at the Asian Games in Toyohashi, Japan, yesterday.

Photo: Reuters

In soft tennis, the men’s doubles duo of brothers Chen Po-yi (陳柏邑) and Chen Yu-hsun (陳郁?) were swept 5-0 in the first match of their final, while singles player Chang Yu-sung (張祐菘) lost 4-1 in the second match.

The 2-0 loss to Japan in only 54 minutes mirrored the result of the sides’ previous finals matchup at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in 2023.

In the women’s team finals, Taiwan lost 2-1 to a Japanese team that had won gold in the past three Asian Games.

Taiwan’s men’s soft tennis team pose with their silver medals after the men’s soft tennis team event at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, yesterday.

Photo: AP

Taiwan’s one win in the matchup was by 22-year-old Asian Games newcomer Chiang Min-yu (江旻育), who defeated Ayaka Iwakura 4-1 in their singles match.

The silver medal finish tied the women’s soft tennis team’s best-ever performance at the Asian Games.

Team member Lo Shu-ting (羅舒婷), who previously said this would be her “last dance” before retirement, she said she was proud of the result.

Taiwan’s Chang Yu-sung returns to Japan’s Toshiki Uematsu during the men’s soft tennis team final at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, yesterday.

Photo: AP

“I think we did great. I don’t have any regrets in my career,” Lo said, adding that going home with a medal “made it all worthwhile.”

Soft tennis is a variety of tennis that originated in Japan. It is played on a standard tennis court, but with a soft rubber ball that flies slower and bounces lower than a tennis ball.

In the Asian Games, team soft tennis follows a best-of-three format, in which the first national team to win two matches win.

Taiwan’s Chiang Min-yu celebrates after beating Japan’s Ayaka Iwakura during the women’s soft tennis team final at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, yesterday.