Wen Tzu-yun won a bronze medal for Taiwan at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Thursday evening. The 27-year-old athlete competed in the Women’s kumite under-55kg category. Wen secured her place in the semi-final after she went 2-1, defeating opponents from Iran and Turkey, while losing to her Bulgarian counterpart in her opening match. Placing in the top four guaranteed Wen a medal, since athletes defeated in the semi-final round both receive bronze medals.
Wen went up against number one ranked Anzhelika Terliuga of Ukraine in the semi-final. Early on in their match, both Wen and Terliuga scored a point on each other. Eight seconds later Terliuga landed a kick to Wen’s head, earning her three additional points. With one second left on the clock, Wen landed a blow to her opponent’s head, tying the score.
Under Olympic rules for karate, the person who first scored a point wins a tie. However, since both Wen and Terliuga scored their first points at the same time, the judges decided the match, and granted Terliuga her victory.
Karate is one of four sports added to the Olympic program specifically for 2020. It is divided into two disciplines: kumite and kata. In kumite, athletes face off against an opponent, whereas kata is a solo-form discipline where competitors perform choreographed moves.
Wen Tzu-ying’s bronze medal is Taiwan’s 12th medal overall at the 2020 games. 2020 has seen Taiwan’s best-ever performance at the Olympics.