Taiwan guns for glory

Taiwan's Huang Chih-hsiung was 10 years old when his father made him take up taekwondo to prevent other children from bullying him.

Now 23, Huang's prowess in the Korean martial art sport could bring him gold and glory in the men's taekwondo flyweight division at the Sydney Olympics in September -- and a handsome cash prize from his government.

"Training is very tiresome. I try to convince myself I can win the gold," the 23-year-old physical education graduate student told Reuters during a break at the sprawling Tsoying training centre in the southern port city of Kaohsiung.

"I tell myself I must hang in there for myself, my family, girlfriend, coach and country," said Huang, who will represent Taiwan, competing as Chinese Taipei because pressure from arch-rival China bars the island from using its official name.

Taekwondo, which resembles karate but focuses on kicks with bare feet, debuts as an official Olympic sport in Sydney, and is Korea's national sport.

But powerhouse South Korea will not field any athletes in the men's flyweight division, boosting Huang's chances of walking away with the gold.

Taiwan has never won a gold in an official Olympic event since first competing in the Summer Games in Los Angeles in 1932.

"It doesn't matter who of the four taekwondo athletes wins the gold, we must win a gold," head coach Sung Ching-hung said in a recent interview.

"We will become sinners for eternity if we do not win a gold. The development of taekwondo in Taiwan would be impeded."

Taiwan's best Olympic finishes have been silvers by decathlete Yang Chuan-kwang at Rome in 1960, their baseball team in Barcelona 1992, and the women's table tennis star Chen Jing in Atlanta 1996.

Cash prizes offered by the government -- the most generous of any country in the world -- are major incentives for Olympic athletes and coaches.

A gold would be worth T$10 million (US$330,000) tax free for Huang and a similar amount for his three coaches.

He would take home T$6 million if he bagged the silver and T$4 million if it's the bronze. Even if he finished 10th, he would still pocket T$100,000.

Huang said he hopes to use part of his prize money from the Sydney Games for further studies in the United States, give about half to his parents and put the rest away. He plans to quit competing in international tournaments in 2002.

Huang is already a millionaire after raking in more than T$7 million in prize money from international competitions.

A fourth-dan black belt, he has won two golds, three silvers and one bronze in international competitions since 1993.

"He's a natural," said Sung, who has coached Huang for 13 years.

"He has speed, agility and flexibility. Others do not have his patience," said Sung, who taught taekwondo in the army before opening his own school.

"His timing is very good and he's the most mature of our taekwondo national athletes in terms of tactics," the 44-year-old coach said. "But he lacks killer instincts. He makes a move only if he is sure of scoring."

Huang counts Spain's Gabriel Esparza among his toughest opponents in Sydney. He crushed the Spaniard for the gold in Olympic qualifiers in Croatia last year.

Huang may be soft-spoken but in combat he can explode into a flurry of potentially lethal kicks. He recently broke the arm of one of his sparring partners.

The Chinese-speaking world has produced kung fu megastars Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, but the Korean martial art has proved more popular.

Taekwondo swept Taiwan off its feet after the island won two taekwondo golds at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and three at the 1992 Barcelona Games when it was a demonstration sport. There are about 2,000 taekwondo schools across Taiwan with about one million students compared with just 300,000 in 1990.

Taekwondo was introduced to Taiwan in the late 1960s by then Defence Minister Chiang Ching-kuo, who visited South Korea and was impressed by its crack troops using bare hands to kill the enemy during the 1950-53 Korean War.

It became a mandatory course for Taiwan's Marine Corps and eventually the entire armed forces.

Wushu, the Chinese version of taekwondo, lost out in the battle for recognition as an Olympic sport, but is expected to debut in 2008. It is more for performance than street fighting.

Another medal hopeful is Chi Shu-ju, whose chances of winning the women's taekwondo flyweight gold are as good because South Korea is not entering an athlete in the event either.

Chi, 17, has three golds, one silver and two bronzes tucked under her belt since she began competing in major international tournaments in 1996.

The stocky 21-year-old Hsu Chi-hung is a serious contender in the men's featherweight division and feared even by the South Koreans.

Yet another hopeful is the lanky 24-year-old Hsu Chih-ling, who will test her skill, speed, strength and stamina in the women's featherweight division.

The high school physical education teacher has garnered two golds, one silver and two bronzes in international competitions and pocketed T$5 million in prize money since 1995.

Since arriving in Tsoying in March, it has meant waking up at dawn, training all day, curfew at 10.30 p.m. and not being able to meet her boyfriend, who lives in the northern capital Taipei.

Hsu, a third-dan black belt, and the others have been forced to watch their weight and avoid meat, fattening food and Coke.

"It's like a concentration camp. It's like the army," said Hsu, who took up taekwondo because she and her male cousins got a kick out of it.