Archer Lei Chien-ying wins over NT$6 million at annual sports awards

Taipei, Dec. 5 (CNA) World No. 6 female archer Lei Chien-ying (雷千瑩) took home NT$6.3 million (US$223,272) for her achievements since 2019 at the Sports Administration's annual Guo Guang awards Friday, the highest of any individual, from a total of NT$47.4 million.

Lei received the money for winning two gold medals at the World Archery Championships held in the Netherlands in June 2019 -- one in the individual recurve event and the other in the women's recurve team event -- and for winning a silver medal in the compound mixed team event at the Asian Archery Championship in November 2019 in Thailand.

Lei's gold medals also helped secure both her and the team a place in the now postponed Tokyo Olympics, which is scheduled to start on July 23, 2021.

The 30-year-old archer said she will discuss with her family how to use the money, but part of it will be definitely go to charity.

A total of 120 Guo Guang medals were handed out to athletes with cash rewards, including 20 to tennis players, the largest group in a single sport, the Sports Administration said in a statement.

The government agency also highlighted several first-time Guo Guang medal winners, such as Chang Hui (張蕙), who won a silver medal in the mixed nation short track speed skating at the 2020 Lausanne Winter Youth Olympics in January; and Sun Pei-yu (孫佩妤), a former judo athlete who won joint third place in the women's open division at the Women's Sumo World Championships in Osaka, Japan in October 2019.

The Guo Guang medals and rewards were set up in 1983 to honor athletes and their coaches for excellent performances in domestic or international competitions.