《TAIPEI TIMES》 Ceremony held for athletes competin

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

The Sports Administration yesterday held a flag awards ceremony for Taiwanese athletes who are to compete in the Summer Olympic Games, as most of them are to leave for Tokyo on a charter flight on Monday next week.

President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） attended the ceremony and handed a national flag and an Olympic flag to Taiwan’s delegation to the Games. She also gave the delegation a bonus of NT$200,000 to purchase food and nutritional supplements for the athletes.

That the Olympic Games can proceed as scheduled, despite repeated challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, shows the strong will of the Japanese government, Tsai said, adding that Taiwan and other countries are also prepared for the international event.

“We hope that the Olympic Games this time will demonstrate our determination to combat the virus and inspire a collective will to defeat it,” Tsai said.

Due to the pandemic, the delegation would be accompanied by medical experts and take a supply of personal protective equipment, Tsai said, adding that the athletes would also have trainers and physical therapists.

Taiwan has 66 athletes competing in 18 sports categories.

“The nation is home to a world-record holder in women’s weightlifting, the world’s No. 1 [women’s] badminton player and Asia’s No. 1 javelin thrower,” Tsai said. “We are familiar with the feats of Taiwanese heroes.”

Many younger athletes have qualified for the first time, such as those competing in karate and canoeing, she said, adding that she has high hopes for athletes of the “golden generation,” who