Taekwondo athlete Lo Chia-ling won a bronze in the women’s 57kg contest, clinching Taiwan’s second medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday.
This is the first time that the 19-year-old Lo is competing in the Olympic Games. She beat her Nigerien rival Tekiath Ben Yessouf 10-6.
Lo’s bronze medal is Taiwan’s second medal in Tokyo, after judoka Yang Yung-wei won a silver in the men’s 60kg on Saturday. Yang was the first Taiwanese to win an Olympic medal in judo.
Lo, who is 183 cm tall, comes from a family of Taekwondo athletes. She was also the first Taiwanese athlete to win two gold medals at the World Taekwondo Junior Championships in 2016 and 2018.
Taekwondo, a Korean martial art, is Taiwan’s top sport at the Olympics. Taiwan has won nine medals in Taekwondo since 2000, when the sport became a part of the Olympic Games. Its second strongest sport at the Olympics is weightlifting with eight medals.
Taiwan won one gold and two bronze medals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. It won a gold in women's weightlifting and bronzes in women's archery and weightlifting.