Taiwan's Zhang Bo-ya wins gold at Asian Indoor Athletics Championships

Taipei, Feb. 9 (CNA) Taiwan's top hurdler Zhang Bo-ya (張博雅) won gold in the women's 60-meter hurdles on Sunday at the 2026 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tianjin, China, setting a new national record of 8.12 seconds and securing Taiwan's first gold medal of the meet.

Zhang, known as Taiwan's "hurdles sweetheart," broke her own national record twice during the competition.

She clocked 8.18 seconds in the heats earlier in the day, surpassing the previous mark of 8.27 seconds she set at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March last year, before lowering it again in the final.

Starting from lane six, Zhang had a slightly slow start in the final but surged after clearing the last hurdle to take the lead at the finish. Japan's Chisato Kiyoyama and Hitomi Nakajima placed second and third, respectively.

Zhang's coach Wang Kuo-hui (王國慧) told CNA the result was not unexpected, even though the athlete is currently in her winter training phase.

"Bo-ya has been in very good condition throughout winter training, so we had set a target of 8.10 seconds for this race," Wang said.

Wang said Zhang did not make any special training adjustments for the championships. After the heats, she focused on recovery and treatment, while pre-final warm-ups emphasized improving her reaction at the start.

In other events on Sunday, Taiwan's Lin Yu-tang (林昱堂), a Penghu native, won silver in the men's long jump with a leap of 7.87 meters.

Together with earlier silver medals from Chen Wen-pu (陳玟溥) in the men's 60 meters and Liao Yan-jun (廖晏均) in the women's 60 meters, Taiwan concluded the championships with one gold and three silver medals.

The Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said it will award a total of NT$240,000 (US$7,600) in prize money to medal-winning athletes and coaches, with Zhang receiving NT$60,000 for her record-breaking performance.