The disqualification of a Taiwanese taekwondo athlete from the Asian Games has sparked fury on the island, with calls for a boycott of everything South Korean. Some suspect the mainland, which is hosting the Games, played a role in the fiasco.
Taiwanese authorities threatened legal action after gold medal hopeful Yang Shu-chun, 25, was disqualified, and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou also demanded an investigation to ensure she was treated fairly.
Yang, a silver medallist at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, was removed from the ring towards the end of the first round of the women's 49kg division in Guangzhou on Wednesday as she was leading Vietnamese competitor Thi Hau Vu 9-0.
An ethnic South Korean referee from the Philippines said Yang had used an extra pair of sensor pads wrapped around her heels to try to manipulate the score. Yang burst into tears after the referee gave the Vietnamese athlete the bout 12-0.
Yang later said she had gone by the book in wearing the sensors and had removed two extra sensor pads from her heels when told to do so before the competition. 'I gave them to my coach, and I have no idea why all of a sudden they claimed I was still using them,' she said yesterday.
Yang Jin-suk, secretary general of the World Taekwondo Federation, insisted that the Taiwanese had worn the offending pads during the match.
Taekwondo participants in the Games are required to wear sensors to record scoring attacks.