OLYMPICS/Boxer Kan vows to 'rise again' despite elimination in Paris Olympics

Paris, July 31 (CNA) Despite being eliminated in the men's 71 kg round of 16 at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, Team Taiwan boxer Kan Chia-wei (甘家葳) expressed his determination to "rise again" following the Olympic debut.

Kan was defeated 0-5 by American Omari Jones.

The 26-year-old Kan had previously served as a sparring partner for Huang Hsiao-wen (黃筱雯), the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist. Last year, he reached the gold medal match at the Hangzhou Asian Games but had to settle for silver due to a severe eyebrow injury.

Jones, a former World Championships silver medalist, proved too strong for Kan, who struggled throughout the three rounds and ultimately lost 0-5 in the Wednesday's match.

Coach Liu Tsung-tai (劉宗泰) said that Kan struggled to match Jones' superior skill and strategy, but praised his fighting spirit.

Liu explained that the planned strategy was for Kan to execute two waves of attack.

The first was to defend and the second to close the distance between the two; however, Kan was caught early by Jones, which disrupted his approach and made recovery challenging.

"All I can say is that the opponent was truly superior in terms of skill and height," he said.

Meanwhile, Kan expressed his gratitude to his late mother after the match, saying "Thank you, Mom, for showing me how vast the world is." He also acknowledged that he needed to continue improving.

Kan's mother passed away before the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. He has kept recordings of her on his phone and wore a T-shirt with her image as a good luck charm.

Kan won silver at the Asian Games and made it to the Olympics, just like he promised his late mother. Despite the loss, he is determined to return, improve, and showcase his hard work.