The 2016 Rio Olympics will be the first Olympic Games since 1904 to include golf as a sport. Four Taiwanese golfers have qualified for the games, and all are hoping to bring back medals for Taiwan.
Female golfers Teresa Lu and Candie Kung are ranked 28th and 35th respectively in the global rankings. Male golfers Pan Cheng-tsung and Lin Wen-tang, meanwhile, are in 210th and 233rd places respectively.
Despite the return of golf to the Olympics after a 112-year hiatus, factors including concern about the Zika virus have led some leading golfers to decide not to compete. These include Australian Jason Day, who is currently the world’s top-ranked male golfer.
58 athletes from Taiwan will be competing in this year’s Olympic Games. They will be competing in 18 sports, including archery, gymnastics, shooting, boxing, tennis, weightlifting, equestrian, and taekwondo. Due to the sensitive issue of Taiwan’s political status, Taiwanese athletes compete at the Olympics under the name Chinese Taipei and use a special Olympic flag.