PARALYMPICS/Table tennis rising star Chen reaches Paralympics men's singles semifinals

Paris, Sept. 4 (CNA) Taiwanese table tennis rising star Chen Po-yen (陳柏諺) advanced to the semifinals of the men's singles TT11 category at the Paris Paralympics on Wednesday, securing at least a bronze medal despite a scoring error by the referee.

He revealed that his coach, Wei Chun-ta (魏君達), had written the word "focus" (專注) on his palm, which helped him maintain concentration during the match.

At just 17, Chen is the youngest member of Taiwan's Paralympic team.

As a child, he suffered a cognitive impairment following a fall but later decided to follow his sister into the world of table tennis.

His relentless determination quickly propelled him into the spotlight. Last year, Chen won the men's singles championship at the Virtus Global Games, making him the first Taiwanese athlete to qualify for the Paris Paralympics.

He continued his winning streak by claiming gold in the men's singles at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games.

Considered one of Taiwan's top medal contenders at this year's Paralympics, Chen faced Belgium's Florian Van Acker, the 2016 Rio Paralympics gold medalist, in the TT11 men's singles quarterfinals.

Chen dominated the first two games with scores of 11-9 and 11-7. Despite a setback in the third game, he rallied in the fourth, winning 11-7 to secure his spot in the semifinals and guarantee a medal.

With this victory, Chen joined teammates Lin Tzu-yu (林姿妤), Tian Shiau-wen (田曉雯) and Cheng Ming-chih (程銘志) in ensuring that every member of Taiwan's Paralympic table tennis team will get a medal.

Speaking to the media after the match, Chen expressed joy at winning his Paralympic debut, describing it as a huge relief. He also shared that seeing the word "focus" written on his palm before every serve was a great help.

Coach Wei mentioned that Van Acker was one of the four key opponents they had focused on preparing to play against and that they had been surprised to face him in the first match.

Wei added that Chen's sparring partners worked hard to simulate Van Acker's style of play.

"Chen performed exceptionally well under pressure today, which has eased our nerves and given us even more confidence as we aim for gold," Wei said.

A notable moment happened in the first game when a referee's scoring error briefly disrupted the match. However, Chen remained composed and quickly adjusted.

Wei explained that Chen was leading 2-1 when the main referee issued a warning to Van Acker for an illegal serve. However, the assistant referee failed to record the point on the scoreboard, resulting in the rally being replayed.

Reflecting on the situation, Chen said, "I didn't dwell on it. I just focused on winning the point back."