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In a display of skill and determination, Taiwan's Ting Yen-chen defeated his Chinese opponent in straight games on Friday to advance to the men's singles final at the 2025 World University Games in Germany, a symbolic victory amid growing tension over China's efforts to marginalize Taiwan in global sports, Focus Taiwan reported.
The 21-year-old National Taiwan University student remained dominant throughout the tournament, not dropping a single game en route to the final. Ting's semifinal win over Zhou Xinyu of China was especially significant, not only for its athletic merit but also for the message it sent about Taiwan's rising sports profile, which had long been overshadowed by Beijing's political interference, Focus Taiwan noted. Ting cruised through the match, winning the first game 15-7 before sealing the second 15-6. He will now face France's Enogat Roy in the gold medal match, with a chance to become just the second Taiwanese player to win the men's singles title after Wang Tzu-wei's historic victory at the 2017 Taipei Universiade. According to Focus Taiwan, Taiwan has now medaled six times in this event, a testament to the island's deep badminton talent and growing international competitiveness, despite China's relentless push to suppress Taiwan's visibility at global sporting events. In a strong showing of national pride and unity, Taiwan has also secured both gold and silver in the mixed doubles final, with Wu Hsuan-yi and Yang Chu-yun set to face compatriots Chen Cheng-kuan and Hsu Yin-hui. Bronze went to Lin Yu-chieh and Jheng Yu-chieh, who were narrowly edged out by their fellow Taiwanese teammates. The 2025 Summer World University Games, commonly referred to as "Universiade 2025" or Rhine-Ruhr 2025, is the XXXII edition of the FISU World University Games: a major global multi-sport festival for university athletes. It is happening in Germany's Rhine-Ruhr region, including cities such as Duisburg, Essen, Bochum, Mulheim, Hagen, and Berlin, from 16 July onwards. These victories are more than medals; they're acts of defiance in the face of China's attempts to erase Taiwan's identity from the world stage. (ANI)
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