Silver medalist released from hospital

Tseng Ching-hsiang, the Taiwanese Taekwondo contestant who made it to the 72 kilogram Men Finals Final on Dec. 7, was up against South Korea's Jihoon Song when — only 17 seconds in the square — opponent Song allegedly struck him directly in his throat and caused him to drop to the floor, unconscious.

The judge did not call a foul; instead, Tseng was placed in an ambulance and automatically awarded the silver medal. Song was declared the winner.

In Taekwondo, it is against official rules to hit the opponent's face or neck with your hand or fist. Although the Chinese Taipei team strongly protested the move and urged the umpire to call foul, the judges steadfastly refused, even when later presented with picture evidence of the illegal move.

Executive Yuan minister without portfolio and former education minister, Dr. Ovid J. L. Tseng was shocked at the results. The minister, who was present at the match and arrived back to Taipei yesterday morning, said he was infuriated by what he viewed as the judge's blatant disregard to competition rules. More tellingly, the umpires — including the judges and referee — refused to look at picture evidence of the swelling on Tseng's neck that were obtained shortly after Tseng's fall.

“We can forget the gold medal, but we cannot discard the honor of Taiwan,” declared the Taiwanese minister.

According to Minister Tseng, all those who were present at the final saw clearly that Song had struck Tseng in the neck. Everyone was equally bewildered that the judges failed to call the move a foul. Members of the South Korean team even claimed Song had struck Tseng in the chest, he added.

Before the results were announced, the minister rushed to see Tseng at the hospital. He asked the doctor treating Tseng to provide a medical report and take pictures of his neck. Then he rushed back to the sports center to present the evidence, only to be ignored by judges who bowed after announcing Song the winner, refusing to look at the pictures. Regarding the game results and the judge's decision, silver medalist Tseng admitted that he was vexed; after all his training and practices, he was looking forward to a good fight. Describing how upsetting it was that the finals ended so quickly, Tseng said the fact that there would be no rematch added to his disappointment.

Regarding the events of the previous day, Tseng said he couldn't remember anything after he lost consciousness. He could only recall fragmented images of lying out on a stretcher and being helped into an ambulance, not knowing how he had gotten there.

Tseng blacked out again in the ambulance and did not regain consciousness until he arrived at the hospital. There, he called his parents to say he was okay. After spending a night at the hospital and undergoing a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Tseng was released yesterday morning. The Taekwon-Do contestant immediately rushed to the Shek Kip Mei park Sports Centre to cheer on his friends.

The Taekwondo competition results of the Hong Kong 2009 East Asian Games were revealed yesterday; Chinese Taipei won a total of two gold, nine silver and five bronze medals.

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