Coach Chen Hung-Ling (陳宏麟) of Olympic gold medalists Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) was allegedly robbed of his luggage en route to the team’s hotel in Paris. The incident comes right before the YONEX French Open 2024 is due to begin on Tuesday.
In an interview, Chen says that the theft probably happened when the badminton group was taking transportation from the airport to the hotel. He says he placed his suitcase together with other large luggage and then returned to the team to help carry training equipment. Chen reports that the contents are valued at NT$50,000 (US$1,585) inclusive of his laptop which contains his thesis materials and badminton information.
Coincidentally, Chen was in Paris participating as a player in the 2010 BWF World Championships. Chen says that when he and his roommate and fellow athlete Lin Yu-lang (林祐瑯) returned to their hotel one night, they found that their room had been burgled and about NT$140,000 (US$4,440) in cash had been stolen. The coach reminded the players to lock the door when sleeping and take their most valued items with them when leaving the hotel.
Taiwan has a total of 17 teams participating in the 2024 YONEX French Open, including women's singles silver medalist Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎). She will also be participating in major competitions in France and England to compete for Olympic status.