Taiwan's Olympic breakdancer places 6th at world championship

Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) Taiwanese Olympic breakdancer Sun Chen (孫振) lost to Ukrainian Oleg Kuznietsov, widely known as B-Boy Kuzya, in the quarterfinals of the WDSF (World DanceSport Federation) World Championship Breaking 2024 in Chengdu, China on Saturday, securing sixth place, his career best in the event.

Earlier Saturday, in the preliminary round of 16, Sun, also known as B-Boy Quake, defeated 19-year-old Chinese B-Boy Lithe-ing (亓祥宇), a bronze winner in the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year and ranked fourth in the last World Championships Breaking.

Sun and his Chinese opponent tied 1-1 in the first two battles and entered the third throwdown during which Sun showed his signature original moves, making changes based on fast and slow rhythms, and eventually won the competition to advance to the quarterfinals.

However, Sun was defeated by Kuzya 0-2 in the quarterfinals but has set a new career best result of sixth place in the World Championships.

Despite being in poor condition due to a severe cold, Sun won the first two games on Friday and advanced to the round of 16 at the event.

Sun participated in the first Olympic breakdancing event at the 2024 Paris Games, becoming the first athlete from Taiwan to compete in the newly added Olympic sport of breaking, although he was eliminated in the preliminary round of 16 in August.

Following the Paris Olympics, the 25-year-old Sun made history by winning the individual male category at Outbreak Europe 2024 in Slovakia in August. This is his first world championship title, setting another record for Taiwanese breakdancing.

Sun also bagged a bronze medal at the WDSF Breaking for Gold (BfG) World Series x FISE World Series Shanghai 2024 in October.

Looking ahead to 2025, Sun has set his target at the World Games, which will be held in Chengdu from Aug. 7-17. However, to secure qualification for the 2025 World Games, he has to first win the Asian Qualifiers.

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