Taiwan’s Olympic athletes have begun their journey to Tokyo for the delayed 2020 Olympic Games. Their departure on Monday comes ahead of the Games’ official opening ceremony on Friday.
The group departing on Monday will join a small group of Taiwanese athletes already in Tokyo, who departed on July 14.
The Taiwan team, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, includes more than 130 people, including coaches and medical staff. Taiwan will have 68 athletes competing in 18 categories at this year’s Olympics.
Premier Su Tseng-chang, Education Minister Pan Wen-chung, and Digital Minister Audrey Tang were present to see off the team at Taipei’s Songshan Airport.
Tang was originally scheduled to travel with the team at the head of the delegation. However, the minister cancelled her trip after the International Olympic Committee tightened its attendance rules.
Premier Su says he hopes all Taiwan’s athletes can perform to the best of their ability. He says the athletes will have the whole country cheering them on.
At the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Taiwan won one gold medal and two bronze. Expectations for the team this year are even higher. American sports data company Gracenote recently predicted a 10-medal haul for Taiwan. The team’s strongest categories in previous games have been badminton, weightlifting and taekwondo.
Among the Taiwanese athletes tipped for gold in Tokyo are Kuo Hsing-chun, competing in weightlifting, and Wen Tzu-yun, competing in karate. Both women have recently won gold medals at the Asian Games.