Sharjah: South Korea continued their dominance while Chinese-Taipei celebrated their first gold as a sand storm yesterday forced an early end on the penultimate day of the 30th Asian Men's and 17th Asian Junior Cycling Championships at the Zayed Velodrome here.
South Korea took golds in the women's juniors scratch and women's junior team sprint to take their tally to 21 medals, 16 of these gold and another four silver.
China tried to keep pace with the runaway leaders winning their seventh gold yesterday to take their total to 10, but it was Chinese Taipei hogging the limelight with their first gold of the competiton in the women's elite scratch race.
"I am over the moon with this medal. It was a risk that we took and today it has paid off," Chinese Taipei rider Fang Ju told Gulf News after her winning effort.
"My coach advised me to opt for endurance events as I have a better structure and I decided to take the plunge. I am so happy I followed his advice," she said.
Her coach Yang Tung Tseng had nothing but praise reserved for his rider. "I am very happy with what she [Fang Ju] has achieved. This is the first time Chinese Taipei is winning a gold medal in a scratch race," he said.
Strategy
The coach disclosed his strategy in helping his rider achieve this amazing result. "I put her with the men during our training camp in Taiwan and today we were able to reap the fruit of this ploy. She has long legs and she is best suited for endurance events. But what clinches it is that she [Fang Ju] loves what she is doing," Tseng said.
Fang Ju has been a rider under the same coach since she started cycling some ten years back. "Her big event was the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, but today is her moment and we are all so proud with what she has achieved for herself and for Chinese Taipei," the coach added.
