A medal hope for Taiwan in the archery competition in the Olympics ended in disappointment. Archer Tang Chih-chun however vowed to come back stronger and step on the podium one day.
Archer Tang Chih-chun (湯智鈞) exited the Paris Olympics in the round of 32 in the men’s single category, a setback from the 4th place he secured at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He lost to the previous Olympic gold medalist Mete Gazoz from Turkey with a final score of 2 to 6.
Talking to the reporters, Tang acknowledged the disappointment but said he had tried his best and vowed to keep improving. Tang showed faith in his ability to win the Olympic medal in the future and become as invincible as other top players on the field.
After the game, Tang expressed gratitude to the media and supporters. Tang says knowing that people at home stayed overnight watching and cheering lets him know he’s not competing alone on the Olympic stage.
Tang Chih-chun shared that since enrolling in the National Sports Training Center from high school, he hasn’t had the chance to enjoy university life. After the Olympics, Tang plans to return to the university and take a break from training. This is also a chance for the coach Liu Chan-ming (劉展明) to spend time with family. Tang mentioned his coach’s sacrifice, giving up time with family to be with the team.
Speaking to the reporters, coach Liu said Tang did not perform well enough in the ranking rounds, which led to the early encounter with a strong opponent. Coach Liu will devise plans to help Tang improve and be ready for the next Asian and Olympic Games.
Liu Chan-ming also mentioned the other two men archers, Lin Zih-siang (林子翔) and Tai Yu-hsuan (戴宇軒) who exited the game earlier. The coach expressed hopes that both can learn from this experience and aim higher for the next time.