Lai highlights expanded support for Taiwan athletes at Asian Games

Kaohsiung, Sept. 8 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Tuesday highlighted expanded medical and rehabilitation services and increased support staffing for Taiwan's athletes at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, saying the Ministry of Sports (MOS) is "making every effort" to support them.

Speaking at a flag-presentation ceremony at the Taiwan Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung, Lai said the delegation headquarters will be staffed by 53 support personnel this year, up from around 40 in the past, including medical staff, rehabilitation specialists and athletic therapists.

Staffing at the delegation's support stations -- facilities separate from the headquarters that provide athletes with services such as training, recovery, medical care and meals -- has also increased from around 13 in the past to 42 this year, he said.

The increases show that the MOS is "making every effort to provide the best possible support for our athletes," Lai said.

Set to open on Sept. 19, the 20th Asian Games will see a 740-member Taiwan delegation supported by the MOS, which was established in September 2025 and is headed by inaugural minister Lee Yang (李洋), a two-time Olympic gold medalist in badminton men's doubles.

Lai also told athletes that he would not set a medal target for the quadrennial Games, Asia's largest sporting event.

"I won't set a target for how many gold, silver or bronze medals we should win," he said.

Instead, Lai urged them to focus on their own performances after earning the opportunity to compete on the international stage through years of training.

"This stage belongs to you," he said, adding that if athletes improve on their previous performances, "the country's overall results will naturally be good."

Competing under the name Chinese Taipei, Taiwan's 482 athletes will compete in 34 sports at venues across Japan, mostly in Aichi Prefecture and its capital Nagoya, with some events also being held in Tokyo and other parts of the country.

Among the most prominent athletes in the delegation are Olympic boxing gold medalist Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷), Olympic weightlifting gold medalist Kuo Hsing-chun (郭婞淳), Olympic judo silver medalist Yang Yung-wei (楊勇緯), and Olympic gymnastics silver medalist Lee Chih-kai (李智凱).

Taiwan's best gold-medal haul at a single Asian Games is 19, achieved at both the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Taiwan finished sixth in the overall medal standings at both editions.