Wang Chieh-ling Secures Asian Games Taekwondo Spot, Only High Schooler on the Team

Wang Chieh-ling, a Taiwanese female athlete who won gold at the Asian Taekwondo Championships last week, won the selection trials for the Nagoya Asian Games and secured her spot on the national team. She is the only high school student on the team. Meanwhile, two-time Olympic representative Lo Chia-ling missed out on the Asian Games. Known as the "Taekwondo Sweetheart," 17-year-old Wang Chieh-ling won gold at the Asian Championships last week and was named the best female athlete. After returning to Taiwan, she participated in the Nagoya Asian Games representative selection trials held at the National Sports Training Center, where she defeated World Championship gold medalist Liu Yu-yun to successfully secure her spot for the Asian Games. With the women's representative team securing full quotas for the Asian Games, Wang Chieh-ling is set to compete in the 49kg category, while last year's silver medalist Lin Wei-chun has moved to the 57kg category. Wang Wei-chia and Lin Yi-chen will compete in the 67kg and over 67kg categories, respectively, as they join forces to seek the first Asian Games gold medal for the Taekwondo team in eight years. The men's representative team has confirmed Asian Games spots in the 68kg and over 80kg categories, with multiple-time national team member Hsu Hao-yu and 2014 Incheon Asian Games silver medalist Huang Yu-jen teaming up. Hong Jun-yi, the silver medalist at the Rhine-Ruhr Universiade in the 80kg category, also has a chance to be selected for the Asian Games, but this is pending the announcement by the Asian Taekwondo Union. Su Tai-yuan, the head coach of Taiwan's Taekwondo sparring team, told CNA that he plans to arrange multiple international competitions before the Asian Games to help athletes earn points and secure favorable positions in the draw. He also hopes to plan training camps in South Korea and provide personalized training based on each athlete's expertise and characteristics. "I encourage them to kick happily; after all, being selected for the national team is the beginning of responsibility." Initially, Wang Chieh-ling was not allowed to participate in the Youth Olympic Games selection trials, but now that his student is challenging the Asian Games stage as a high school student, Chu Chien-an, who teaches at Yifeng High School, said he was a bit surprised. However, he believes that Wang Chieh-ling's confidence has greatly increased after winning gold at the Asian Championships, and he continued to act as a "reassurance" for her during this selection trial. "It's really not easy for a high school student to make it to the Asian Games," he said.