President Tsai Attends Flag-awarding Ceremony Ahead of Tokyo Olympics / 蔡總統授旗東奧代表團 選手視訊參與

President Tsai-ing wen presided over the flag-awarding ceremony ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Only 4 athletes attended the ceremony in person due to the pandemic, with the process being livestreamed on the internet. 

“Group Flag is flying. United we stand!”

Waving the Chinese Taipei group flag and wishing the Olympic delegation success at the Tokyo Olympics, President Tsai Ing-wen participated in the first online flag-awarding ceremony at the National Sports Training Center. Other attendees include the Minister without Portfolio Audrey Tang, who will attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics later this month, as the representative of the Taiwan government and the Education Minister Pan Wen-chung, among others.

Tsai Ing-wen, President："We have the world No. 1 in the women's singles for badminton, the pommel horse prince, the best javelin thrower in Asia. There are so many extraordinary athletes from Taiwan in recent years and this is our golden generation."

Sixty-six athletes from Taiwan will participate in 18 sports competitions at the Tokyo Olympics.  However, as a precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic, only 4 contestants, including Tai Tzu-ying and Lee Chih-kai, attended the flag-awarding ceremony. The Tokyo Olympics is the first postponed and spectator-free Olympics. And the general public is curious about how had athletes coped with the hardship, and whether they can fit into the audience-free competitions.

Tai Tzu-ying, Professional Badminton Player："Things seem uncertain at this stage due to the pandemic. The situation might be different from the previous games. So, I will do my best to adapt to every possible environment and fight unreservedly for the best result."

Lee Chih-kai, Gymnast:"(Did you bring anything special with you other than the necessities?) I would think that the virus prevention goods are the focus this time. There are numerous uncertainties this time around, so I think it's very important to take precautions."
 

Many athletes have also taken the time during which the Olympics was postponed to practice additionally. Lee said he has participated in numerous "simulated games" at the National Sports Training Center and hopes that he can perform his best at the Olympics.

主持人：「團旗飛揚，團結隊伍。」

揮舞團旗、再將旗幟授予我國奧運代表團，預祝旗開得勝，東奧備戰進入最後倒數，蔡英文總統親自前往國訓中心，將代表台灣出席東京奧運的行政院政委唐鳳、以及教育部長潘文忠等人陪同下，參與首次線上授旗。

總統 蔡英文：「有羽球的世界球后，有體操的鞍馬王子，有亞洲標槍第一人。這幾年來台灣的體育選手，不但人才輩出，（也)形成了最堅強的黃金世代。」

本屆奧運我國共派出66位選手，參加18種運動競賽，但基於防疫考量，僅由世界球后戴資穎、馬王子李智凱等4位選手代表出席。東奧是史上首次延期舉辦的奧運會，而且不開放觀眾進場，外界好奇選手們，這一年來怎麼調配心情？能否適應沒有加油聲的競賽場？

羽球選手 戴資穎：「不曉得會是怎麼樣，因為這一次疫情的關係，所以可能會跟以往很不一樣，所以就是努力地去適應各種環境，去爭取最好成績。」

體操選手 李智凱：「（除了收行李之外 你是不是有一些特別的物品也會帶著？)其實這次覺得重點是擺在防疫物資，因為畢竟這次充滿了不確定性比較多，所以其實對自己能夠做出更多的保護，其實是更重要的。」

疫情肆虐下，選手們也少了許多「以戰養戰」的機會，李智凱說，國訓中心進行了不少「模擬賽」，期許自己能揮別過去的落馬陰霾、全力以赴！