Taiwan Strikes Gold in Olympic Games

The Chinese Taipei team sent 88 athletes to the Athens Games, competing in 14 sports, including archery, track and field, baseball, badminton, cycling, judo, riflery, softball, rowing, taekwondo, table tennis, and tennis.

In the competitions themselves, the men's archery squad unexpectedly beat one opponent after another, making it into the gold medal round against South Korea, the undisputed No. 1 team in the world. Ultimately they lost to South Korea, 244-251, but nonetheless came away with the silver medal. This was the first time any of the three team members had been in an Olympics, and they attributed their remarkable success to their team spirit and mutual support. All three will receive NT$6 million from the government in recognition of the honor they have brought to their country.

In addition, the women's archery team brought back the bronze medal. This was especially remarkable considering that the Chinese Taipei team had the youngest average age of any of the top three squads. They defeated France 242-228 for the bronze, which was the inaugural medal of these games for the Chinese Taipei team. This was the first Olympics for all three of these competitors as well, and each will receive NT$4 million in prize money.

In baseball, which drew the most attention at home, the Taiwan squad lost successively to Canada, Cuba, Italy, and Japan, before defeating the Netherlands to finish fifth. Although dreams of a medal went up in smoke, this was not due to lack of effort. Taiwan's most outstanding players, such as Wang Chien-min, Chen Chin-feng, Tsao Chin-hui, and Chang Chih-chia, who are currently playing professionally overseas, all performed very well. The most exciting game was that against Japan, which went into extra innings, with Chinese Taipei being clipped by only a single run. Head coach Hsu Sheng-ming said that although the team lost, no one had even expected it to give Japan much of a fight, so their efforts both at the plate and in the field were very admirable. Star pitcher Tsao Chin-hui threw until his hand blistered and began bleeding, giving an idea of the determination shown by the whole squad.

There were also hopes of medals in weightlifting and table tennis. Unfortunately, weightlifting standout Wang Shin-yuan had his legs cramp up on a lift (as a result of inappropriate diet) and had to withdraw from the competition. Table tennis star Chuang Chih-yuan made it into the final eight, but was knocked out by China's Wang Hao.

With the opening ceremonies for the 2000 Sydney Olympics having been called "the largest sound and light show of the 20th century," the proud Greeks were not to be outdone in 2004. For the Athens opener, a dream-like spectacle which combined classical myth with modern technology, the 70,000-seat main stadium was turned into a man-made lake, evoking the fact that Greece is surrounded by water on three sides. Then, a comet-like ball of fire dropped from the roof into the lake, setting ablaze five rings, the symbol of the Olympic Games.

Classical Greek myth was made an integral part of the opening ceremonies, giving the Athens games a rich poeticism. The 202 member countries entered the stadium in alphabetical order according to the Greek spellings of their country names, from alpha to omega.

The Chinese Taipei team was the 181st to enter, with the male athletes wearing dark blue jackets and gray pants, while the female athletes wore light blue suits. Chen Chih-yuan, with a shock of dyed blond hair and sporting whiskers, served as flag bearer, drawing loads of attention from the crowd as he paraded through the stadium. Bringing up the rear was baseball power hitter Chang Tai-shan.

Before the games the NCPFS asked citizens not to bring the ROC national flag into any venues in order to avoid controversy. However, during a break in the action in the baseball game between Chinese Taipei and Cuba, a group of Taiwanese students studying in Spain, attired in bikinis and draped in the national flag, put on an impromptu dance around home plate. This attracted the attention of numerous photographers, and successfully attracted wider attention to the unfair treatment Taiwan receives internationally. Looking to the future, it is hoped that the Olympic team will be able to perform even better so that Taiwan will garner a greater share of the international spotlight.