Taiwan athletes won 17 gold, 19 silver and 31 bronze medals at the Asian Games concluded Sept. 2 in Indonesia, marking the nation’s best performance at the event for two decades.
 
This haul placed the nation seventh among the 45 participating countries and territories. Taiwan competitors clinched golds in 11 disciplines including archery, canoeing, karate, shooting, roller skating, taekwondo and weightlifting.
 
One of the major highlights was Tai Tzu-ying’s dominant showing in the women’s singles badminton tournament. The world No. 1 dispatched all-comers to claim Taiwan’s first-ever gold in the discipline at the games.
 
Similarly breaking new ground were gymnasts Tang Chia-hung and Lee Chih-kai, who bagged Taiwan’s inaugural wins in the horizontal bar and pommel horse, respectively. Yang Hsin-lung and Lu Yi-zu also earned the nation’s first gold for contract bridge with victory in the mixed pair event.
 
Equally impressive was back-to-back karate champion Wen Tzu-yun, who is the first athlete to retain the Asian Games title in the 55-kilogram division. And Chen Kuei-ru produced a national record-breaking time of 13.39 seconds to pick up silver in the 110-meter hurdles.
 
Following the closing ceremony of the games, President Tsai Ing-wen thanked Taiwan’s athletes, coaches and support staff on her official Facebook page, stating that the nation’s impressive tally of 67 medals results for their commitment to achieving sporting excellence.
 
The same day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also congratulated the national team for a stellar showing on its official Twitter page. Noting that the 17 gold medal haul is the nation’s second best performance at the event, the MOFA said that the athletes, coaches and officials had made Taiwan proud.
 
According to the Sports Administration under the Ministry of Education, gold, silver and bronze medalists will be awarded NT$3 million (US$97,600), NT$1.5 million and NT$900,000, respectively. (KWS-E)