Better buy your tickets now! Over 90% of the Chinese Taipei-Australia opening match have been sold. That figure is even higher for the South Korean game, and only 4000 tickets remain for the Netherlands tilt. The Taichung International Baseball stadium can fit around 20,000 fans.
The World Baseball Classic rounds in Taiwan run from March 2-5.
source: http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aALL&ID=201301210022
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Tai Tzu Ying wins!
The eighteen year old badminton sensation capped off a fantastic week by winning the Malaysian Open. She defeated former world number one Tine Baun in the quarterfinals and then first seed Saina Nehwal, 2012 London bronze medalist, of India in the semifinals. In the finals against Yao Xue of China she won 21-17 21-14.
Go Tai Tzu Ying!
Links of her matches this week-
against Yao Xue http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ECbEZo7-X0
against Saina Nehwal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7ckILCK8LA
against Tine Baun
part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d2WCzbb0a4
part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBOoxrSLsJc
Go Tai Tzu Ying!
Links of her matches this week-
against Yao Xue http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ECbEZo7-X0
against Saina Nehwal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7ckILCK8LA
against Tine Baun
part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d2WCzbb0a4
part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBOoxrSLsJc
Friday, January 18, 2013
It's gold at AYOF today
At the Australian Youth Olympic Festival, Tsai Ming-Yen grabbed gold in the under 60 kg judo catogory. He won three matches in impressive fashion-three ippons! The 17 year old is certainly one to look out for in the future.
He was the 2011 Asian under 17 champion and also the under 17 world runner up in under 55 kg division. In addition as only a 16 year old, he won a bronze medal at the 2012 Asian Championships last year against more seasoned opponents. The winner Gwang-Hyeon Choi of Korea was 25 years old and had already qualified for the Olympics at that point.
Good Job Tsai Ming-Yen!
If you want to see him in action here he is at the semi of the under 17 world championships. Unfortunately the throw that ended the match occured out of camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxmG1X5Rw08
He was the 2011 Asian under 17 champion and also the under 17 world runner up in under 55 kg division. In addition as only a 16 year old, he won a bronze medal at the 2012 Asian Championships last year against more seasoned opponents. The winner Gwang-Hyeon Choi of Korea was 25 years old and had already qualified for the Olympics at that point.
Good Job Tsai Ming-Yen!
If you want to see him in action here he is at the semi of the under 17 world championships. Unfortunately the throw that ended the match occured out of camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxmG1X5Rw08
Thursday, January 17, 2013
My Viewings of the Australian Open
Here's what has happened:
Best thing-Chan Yung-Jan winning her first round match against Daniela Hantuchova. Weird three set match but a win is a win. With the first round points and the added points from qualifying, Chan should make the Top 100 again.
Probably the worst thing- Chang Kai-Chen losing her first round doubles match. It wasn't that she and Yan Zi lost-it was just how badly they lost against Dominika Cibulkova and Ksenia Pervak 0-6 3-6.
Matches I watched:
Chang vs. Stosur
Chang was close in the first set due to her return of serve catching Stosur in no man's land. She served for the set at 5-4 but couldn't capitalize. Stosur ran away with the second.
Chan vs. Ivanovic
Tight three set match here which Chan lost. Chan was won the second set thanks to Ivanovic who seemed to be hitting for the fences. To be honest, Chan wasn't doing much and I wasn't too impressed with Chan's play. Her serve was significantly slower than the last time I saw her, and she doesn't look exactly 'fit.' Once Ivanovic got a brain in the third set, Ivanovic started winning quite comfortably.
Lu vs. Monfils
So Lu did win his first round that I expected him to win. Unfortunately he would lose 6-8 in the fifth set to Monfils. Both players were spent and exhausted. Lu seemed to have the more endurance but Monfils had more weapons in his shot selection that carried him to the end.
Hsieh/Peng vs. Johansson/Parmentier
Hsieh and Peng won 6-2 6-4. Nothing too spectacular-Parmentier made so many errors that Hsieh and Peng only needed to play around average to take this in straights.
So later today Lu is playing with Go Saeda in the second round of men's doubles. Hsieh is the only Taiwanese player in the mixed draw.
Best thing-Chan Yung-Jan winning her first round match against Daniela Hantuchova. Weird three set match but a win is a win. With the first round points and the added points from qualifying, Chan should make the Top 100 again.
Probably the worst thing- Chang Kai-Chen losing her first round doubles match. It wasn't that she and Yan Zi lost-it was just how badly they lost against Dominika Cibulkova and Ksenia Pervak 0-6 3-6.
Matches I watched:
Chang vs. Stosur
Chang was close in the first set due to her return of serve catching Stosur in no man's land. She served for the set at 5-4 but couldn't capitalize. Stosur ran away with the second.
Chan vs. Ivanovic
Tight three set match here which Chan lost. Chan was won the second set thanks to Ivanovic who seemed to be hitting for the fences. To be honest, Chan wasn't doing much and I wasn't too impressed with Chan's play. Her serve was significantly slower than the last time I saw her, and she doesn't look exactly 'fit.' Once Ivanovic got a brain in the third set, Ivanovic started winning quite comfortably.
Lu vs. Monfils
So Lu did win his first round that I expected him to win. Unfortunately he would lose 6-8 in the fifth set to Monfils. Both players were spent and exhausted. Lu seemed to have the more endurance but Monfils had more weapons in his shot selection that carried him to the end.
Hsieh/Peng vs. Johansson/Parmentier
Hsieh and Peng won 6-2 6-4. Nothing too spectacular-Parmentier made so many errors that Hsieh and Peng only needed to play around average to take this in straights.
So later today Lu is playing with Go Saeda in the second round of men's doubles. Hsieh is the only Taiwanese player in the mixed draw.
Taiwan nabs bronze at youth festival
The mixed Taiwanese badminton team grabbed the bronze medal at the Australian Youth Olympics Festival, opened to rising stars. Played as one singles per sex, one doubles per sex, and mixed doubles, the Taiwan team, made of 16-18 year olds, beat New Zealand in the first round. Then they lost a 3-2 match against Malaysia before coming back to beat Great Britain 5-0 for the bronze medal.
Good job!
Good job!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Flashback...2001 East Asian Games
Lin Yung-Hsi was the last Taiwanese gymnast at the Olympic Games. In Sydney 2000, he finished 51st in qualifying.
At the 2001 East Asian Games, he placed 2nd on the vault
Here is the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLoorZEbuHA
His first vault is a half on twisting (can't tell how many twists) move. Good and clean in the air. Goes a little bit more horizontally than vertically than I'd like though.
His second vault is a double front. Again it's good in the air, but he lands low and has to take multiple steps.
Gymnastics in Taiwan is not very popular. At international meets, the men do better than the women. The best events in Taiwan have historically been rings, vault, and pommel horse.
At the 2001 East Asian Games, he placed 2nd on the vault
Here is the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLoorZEbuHA
His first vault is a half on twisting (can't tell how many twists) move. Good and clean in the air. Goes a little bit more horizontally than vertically than I'd like though.
His second vault is a double front. Again it's good in the air, but he lands low and has to take multiple steps.
Gymnastics in Taiwan is not very popular. At international meets, the men do better than the women. The best events in Taiwan have historically been rings, vault, and pommel horse.
Australian Open Preview
It's the Pacific Asia Grand Slam!!!!
So Taiwan has three women in the main draw: Hsieh Su-Wei, Chang Kai-Chen, and Chan Yung-Jan. Yung-Jan successfully made it out of qualifying. (Woot!) She had to win three matches and only lost ten games in the process. A huge Taiwanese contingent was there (probably over 500).
Hsieh plays Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino, who is playing in her first Australian Open. Chang plays Top 10 player Australian Samantha Stosur (solace is Stosur is dreadful playing in her home country and Chang beat her last year in Osaka). Chang got a horrible draw and is playing Daniela Hantuchova.
In doubles, Hsieh is playing with her friend Shuai Peng. Chang is playing with another Chinese-Yan Zi coming back from maternity leave. And of course, Yung-Jan will be playing with her sister. Draws will be announced later. Unfortunately top 50 ranked Chuang Chia-Jung is out with injury and can't play.
In men's singles, Lu Yen-Hsun plays Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain. Hidalgo is ranked about 30 places below Lu and has never won a match here. (So please please win your match Rendy....)
In qualifying, Taiwan had three men: Jimmy Wang lost first round while Ti Chen and Yang Tsung-Hua lost in the second round.
That's it for now. It'd be great to see if the same people who watched Chan Yung-Jan come out and watch more of the Australian Open!
So Taiwan has three women in the main draw: Hsieh Su-Wei, Chang Kai-Chen, and Chan Yung-Jan. Yung-Jan successfully made it out of qualifying. (Woot!) She had to win three matches and only lost ten games in the process. A huge Taiwanese contingent was there (probably over 500).
Hsieh plays Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino, who is playing in her first Australian Open. Chang plays Top 10 player Australian Samantha Stosur (solace is Stosur is dreadful playing in her home country and Chang beat her last year in Osaka). Chang got a horrible draw and is playing Daniela Hantuchova.
In doubles, Hsieh is playing with her friend Shuai Peng. Chang is playing with another Chinese-Yan Zi coming back from maternity leave. And of course, Yung-Jan will be playing with her sister. Draws will be announced later. Unfortunately top 50 ranked Chuang Chia-Jung is out with injury and can't play.
In men's singles, Lu Yen-Hsun plays Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain. Hidalgo is ranked about 30 places below Lu and has never won a match here. (So please please win your match Rendy....)
In qualifying, Taiwan had three men: Jimmy Wang lost first round while Ti Chen and Yang Tsung-Hua lost in the second round.
That's it for now. It'd be great to see if the same people who watched Chan Yung-Jan come out and watch more of the Australian Open!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
2013 BWF Super Series Kicks Off
Korea Open in Seoul
Taiwan's entries:
Men's Singles-
Hsu Jen Hao and Chou Tien Chen
Women's Singles-
Tai Tzu Ying (only 18 years of age), Cheng Shao Chieh, Pai Hsiao Ma, and Hsu Ya Ching (made it out of qualifying)
Men's Doubles-
Lee Sheng Mu and Tsai Chia Hsin
Women's Doubles-
Hung Shih Chieh and Wu Fang Chien
Cheng Wen Hsing and Hsieh Pei Chen
Chang Kai Hsin and Tsai Pei Ling
Mixed Doubles-
Lee Sheng Mu and Cheng Wen Hsing
Couple entries failed in qualification
Here's a choppy video of Hsueh Hsuan Yi losing in the final qualifying round
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R42Ilk1gaHM
Taiwan's entries:
Men's Singles-
Hsu Jen Hao and Chou Tien Chen
Women's Singles-
Tai Tzu Ying (only 18 years of age), Cheng Shao Chieh, Pai Hsiao Ma, and Hsu Ya Ching (made it out of qualifying)
Men's Doubles-
Lee Sheng Mu and Tsai Chia Hsin
Women's Doubles-
Hung Shih Chieh and Wu Fang Chien
Cheng Wen Hsing and Hsieh Pei Chen
Chang Kai Hsin and Tsai Pei Ling
Mixed Doubles-
Lee Sheng Mu and Cheng Wen Hsing
Couple entries failed in qualification
Here's a choppy video of Hsueh Hsuan Yi losing in the final qualifying round
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R42Ilk1gaHM
Sunday, January 6, 2013
More from the Chan Sisters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeSqzYEym3s
Here are some comments the Chan sisters gave to the media. Basically they said they needed to focus more but that this was a great start to the season.
Yung-Chan speaks first and younger sis Hao-Ching speaks second in the video.
Here are some comments the Chan sisters gave to the media. Basically they said they needed to focus more but that this was a great start to the season.
Yung-Chan speaks first and younger sis Hao-Ching speaks second in the video.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Chan Sisters take Shenzhen Open
Congrats to Hao-Ching and Yung-Jan for capturing the Shenzhen Open! The first seeds stayed true to form, and this is the first title for the duo together. They beat Irina Buryachok of Ukraine and Valeria Solovieva 6-0 7-5. They started the week off blitzing Alexandra Candatu and Anne Keothavong 6-0 6-1. In the quarters they had to survive a super tiebreaker and a tiebreaker in the semis. Congrats!
On another note, Su-Wei lost her second match and had to pull out of doubles with her sister. WTA states that she had a right forearm injury. But on facebook, Su-Wei calmed her fans saying that it was just a 24 hour thing. She's signed up for Hobart this week, so hoepfully this is just a minor scare. She plays her good friend Shuai Peng in the first round and is not signed up for doubles.
Hao-Ching wil play Syndey this week in doubles with Alicja Rosolska of Poland. Yung-Jan is probably going to be in Melbourne preparing for the Australian Open qualifying.
Good luck!
On another note, Su-Wei lost her second match and had to pull out of doubles with her sister. WTA states that she had a right forearm injury. But on facebook, Su-Wei calmed her fans saying that it was just a 24 hour thing. She's signed up for Hobart this week, so hoepfully this is just a minor scare. She plays her good friend Shuai Peng in the first round and is not signed up for doubles.
Hao-Ching wil play Syndey this week in doubles with Alicja Rosolska of Poland. Yung-Jan is probably going to be in Melbourne preparing for the Australian Open qualifying.
Good luck!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
10 things I want to see in 2013
Some are more realistic than others
1.
Tennis player Hsieh Su-Wei to maintain her
ranking in the top 30
2.
Fourth of the medals table at East Asian Games
3.
Figure skater qualify past the first round at
the World Championships
4.
Luger Lien Te-An successfully qualify for the
2014 Olympics
5.
Jeremy Lin leads Rockets to the playoffs
6.
Golfer Yani Tseng to hold on to her number 1
ranking
7.
Advance out of pool play at the World Baseball
Classic
8.
Top 6 finish for both national basketball teams
at the FIBA Asia Championships
9.
Footballer Victor Chou to recover from his foot
surgery
10.
Jimmy Wang to break back into top 100 of the ATP
rankings
What would you like to see of Taiwanese athletes this
year?
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