Sport In Taiwan
Sports are a popular recreation activity in Taiwan. Some of the most common sports include basketball, baseball, soccer and softball. Martial arts such as t'ai chi ch'uan and taekwondo is also practiced by many people. International-known athletes include Yang Chuan-kwang, Chi Cheng, and Yani Tseng among others.
The most popular spectator sport is baseball. It is commonly considered the national sport in Taiwan. Baseball was first introduced during Japanese rule. It is the most popular spectator sport in Taiwan. The professional baseball league is the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), and the main playoff competition is the Taiwan Series. Taiwan has been "exporting" baseball talents to Japan and United States over the past few decades, such as Tai-Yuan Kuo (Taigen Kaku) to the Seibu Lions, Chien-Ming Wang to the New York Yankees/Washington Nationals, and Wei-Yin Chen to the Baltimore Orioles. The Chinese Taipei baseball team is currently the seventh ranked baseball team in the world.
Due to political reasons and pressures from the People's Republic of China, the organisations or national teams from Taiwan have been competing as Chinese Taipei in international sporting events, such as the Olympic Games.
Read more about Sport In Taiwan: Basketball, Football, Rugby Union, Volleyball, See Also
Famous quotes containing the word sport:
“The sport of digging the bait is nearly equal to that of catching the fish, when one’s appetite is not too keen.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)