TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Wang Chieh-ling (王婕菱) won gold at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia, securing Taiwan’s first women’s title at the event in a decade.
The 17-year-old defeated Thailand’s Patcharakan Poolkerd, last year’s Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, in the women’s under-46 kilogram finweight division. Wang took the opening round 4–2 before sealing the title with a head-level attack in the final three seconds of the second round to win 6–3, according to LTN.
A two-time World Junior Championships gold medalist, Wang entered the senior-level competition as one of Taiwan’s rising prospects. Her path to the title included wins over teammate Huang Ying-hsuan (黃映瑄) and South Korea’s Lee Yu-min.
Coach Chu Chien-an (朱建安) said Wang only began transitioning to senior competition this season and faced more experienced opponents. He added that, with Asian Games qualification tied to the event, she carried significant pressure.
The Asian Taekwondo Championships is a biennial continental tournament for Asia’s national federations. This year’s edition runs May 21–24. This year's event runs May 21-24, according to World Taekwondo.
