Young shot putter bags bronze medal for Taiwan

Taipei, Aug. 21 (CNA) Taiwanese shot putter Chiang Ching-yuan (江靜緣) won a bronze medal Thursday at the Asian Throwing Championships 2025 in Mokpo, South Korea.

The 18-year-old threw a 17.09-meter shot in her third attempt, which was a personal best on Thursday.

Speaking with CNA after the event, Chiang's coach Lu Ching-yi (呂景義) said while the team did not set a specific goal before the championships, he thought that the young athlete's throw could have been stronger.

"In her past competitions, Ching-yuan usually did better in her last three attempts," Lu said. "It is a shame that she didn't do that today."

In certain shot put games, the top eight athletes in a competition typically get three more rounds on top of the initial three attempts.

Lu said Chiang's third throw on Thursday was a little off, resulting in her shot falling a bit short, but he acknowledged that it was an intense and challenging competition.

Chiang had established a new national record for women's shot put on May 3 with a 17.83m throw at the 40th Shizuoka International Athletics Meet in Shizuoka, Japan.

That performance also put Chiang in the top spot, above Emma Berg of Australia and Haruka Osako of Japan, who placed second and third, respectively.

Chiang's bronze medal win on Thursday was her third podium finish this year, following a top placement in Japan and another bronze in late May at the 26th Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea.

She also represented Taiwan at the 2025 FISU Summer World University Games in Germany in July.

The current edition of the Asian Throwing Championships is being held Aug. 21-22 in Mokpo.