PARALYMPICS/Taiwanese paddlers bag silver at Paris Paralympics

Paris, Aug. 31 (CNA) Taiwan's Lin Tzu-yu (林姿妤) and Tian Shiau-wen (田曉雯) took the silver medal for the table tennis women's doubles WD20 class at the Paris Paralympics on Saturday, winning the second medal for Team Taiwan in this year's games.

The top-seeded duo missed the gold when they lost to Australia's Lei Li Na and Yang Qian in the finals match of 29 minutes.

Lin and Tian could not adjust to their best state at first, losing the first two games 7-11 and 6-11. While they fought back, winning the third game 11-3 and taking the lead in the fourth game, they were not able take advantage of their game point and lost 10-12 to the second-seeded pair.

The Taiwanese pair said at a post-match interview that they were happy to surpass their performance in the Tokyo Paralympics, when Tian took a bronze in the women's singles TT10 class.

It was also Taiwan's only medal that season.

Tian said they had both improved a lot compared to when they competed in the Tokyo Paralympics, thanking her own and her coach's effort as well as others' support.

"I have no regrets, having displayed the strength [we] were meant to show," Tian said.

Lin said the medal was proof of the pair's growth, adding that "my partner is really very strong."

Tian's coach, Chuang Wen-chuan (莊紋娟), revealed to CNA that Tian fell into a slump last year from an injury, but it also gave her the chance for self-inspection and to stabilize her conditions.

"I am really moved to see her grow along the way," Chaung said.

Tying the best performance in the history of the Taiwanese table tennis team at the Paralympics with their silver medal, Tian and Lin are set to have their first matches in the women's singles WS10 class starting on Sunday.

Team Taiwan has currently won two medals, with the other being a bronze medal secured by Taekwondo athlete Xiao Xiang-wen (蕭翔文) in the men's K44 58-kilogram division on Aug. 29.

The Taichung City Government Sports Bureau has also announced Sunday that they will award NT$600,000 (US$18,729) plus a NT$50,000 appearance award to Lin, who is a Taichung citizen.